How does she do it?
by Jane Bennett
Summary: Becker can't keep Jess out of his mind! Everytime he tries she stumbles back in, but can he love her? Or is his life just too dangerous? Is there time for him to man up or is he about to lose her to another man? In later chapters they meet a person from their past and a journey from past to future and back again begins. Can they figure out what happened/will happen in the future?
1. Chapter 1

**So this is the second story I wrote. I am not that good at writing action scenes but I tried anyway and I hope you like it. (why I got so caught up in these two characters, well, I have no clue, I just like them=))**

**So, reviews are welcome, but now enjoy the story.**

**And, I know it's too early, but anyway: Happy New Year to everyone out there;)**

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><p>He knew the day would come.<p>

Although he had hoped that it wouldn't, it came and now he was stuck.

He entered the lift and pressed the button.

_Why the hell did it have to happen? This was so not fair!_

It had to stop, there were lives depending on that.

With a high pitched _ping_ the lift reached its floor.

The man left it and started for the ops room.

He needed a lot of self control to resist, but he knew he could do it.

The years of training that lay behind him had been tough, but now he knew how to control his emotions. He could do this, he decided.

The soldier drew a deep breath. _Yes!_

* * *

><p>There were technicians working in the room. It was pretty quiet though.<p>

He headed down the stairs and there she was.

_Damn_, he thought.

She was wearing a short brown and red plaid skirt with a matching red pullover. Her heels were ridiculously high as always. Her hair was falling loosely down to her shoulders but a dark hair band kept it from falling into her face.

Another sigh escaped his throat as his heart missed a beat.

"Captain Becker!"

"Good morning, Sir." He turned around to see his boss approaching him. Suddenly Jessica turned around in her chair with a swift movement.

"Morning, Becker!" She smiled one of her bright smiles which made his heart twist. The soldier bit down on his lip to prevent him from returning her smile.

"Morning, Jessica." He mumbled quickly and turned to Lester again.

"What can I do for you, Sir?"

"Well, new recruits arrived this morning. They were sent over straight from Sandhurst and I want you to show them their places and see if they are as useful as their files promise."

"Yes, Sir."

"As for you Miss Parker, well done, well done…" Lester approved and retreated.

Jess smiled satisfied before she turned around again.

Becker frowned watching Lester go.

"What was that for?"

"I just covered the 6 o'clock news."

Becker remembered the last anomaly incident as Connor accidentally blew up a storage hall.

"Mh. Well, I'm gonna go and check out the new recruits."

He moved towards the door but stopped as Jess called his name.

"What?"

"Don't kill them on their first day!" He laughed.

* * *

><p>Jess stared at the screens again.<p>

She didn't miss that Becker had refused to smile at her. _What was wrong with him?_

He was so gorgeous and she thought that he liked her after everything but since New Dawn had been destroyed he seemed to pull away.

She typed away on her keyboard as Abby startled her.

"Hey!"

"Ugh, Abby." The other woman laughed. "I thought only Becker could startle you like that!"

Jess smiled sheepishly.

"Dave asked for you." Abby smiled.

"Again?" Jess remembered Abby's tall handsome friend she met the last weekend as she and Abby went out. He was a pure dreamboat! If Jess' mind wasn't occupied with a certain soldier she would definitely go for him.

Her friend cocked her eyebrows: "So, what are you going to do about him?"

Jess turned to the screens again. "I don't know." She shrugged sighing.

"Jess, you are young. You should go out and live your life!" Her face fell as Abby smiled a sad smile.

The young field coordinator glanced at the CCTV footage from the gym.

"You can't wait for him forever, you know that."

Biting her lip she nodded. "But he might come around, won't he?" The look in her eyes was torn.

Abby patted her shoulder comfortingly.

She felt so sorry for Jess who was so hopeful.

* * *

><p>Becker shouted at his new soldiers. They were to do an obstacle course. Round after round after round…<p>

Some looked really horrible already but Becker seemed to be merciless.

His 2 in command came standing next to him: "With all due respect, Sir, don't you think it's enough?"

Becker stared at him coldly. "They have to be fit out in the field."

"I know, but an exhausted or even dead man is no help out there."

The Captain kept staring at Lieutenant Tennant who was the only one of the soldiers who dared to stand up to Becker.

The Captain was pissed because Tennant was right.

"All right, enough for today!" Becker shouted still staring at Tennant. He liked him because he had the guts to speak his mind and because they both had saved each other's life more than once.

Cursing silently he marched off towards the armoury. There was so much anger inside of him.

"Sir?" His 2IC had followed him. "Are you all right?"

"Fine!" Becker snarled and Tennant stopped.

* * *

><p>"I can't feel my legs anymore!" One of the soldiers cried massaging his legs.<p>

Moans and the smell of sweat lingered in the air of the locker rooms.

"I have heard of Captain Becker before. It is said that he is one of the best."

"Is he?"

"The best one in killing people!"

One of the new recruits, Cooper, turned to Sergeant Johnson who was with Becker now for more than a year: "Is he always this lethal?"

Johnson laughed pulling his shirt over his head: "Lethal for sure, but he really is the best you will find around here!"

"He really is a fine man!" Another soldier agreed. "He never lets anyone down."

You heard metal doors being shut. Hot steam escaped from the showers.

"That's right." Johnson confirmed. "Unfortunately it means that if something happens he'd blame himself." Another soldier, who came out of the shower, a towel hung loosely around his hips, joined the conversation: "And that guilt is eating him up! So for all our sakes: Don't you dare to get yourself killed!"

The new recruits acknowledged the advices.

"Well, but however, he seems to be an unpleasant fellow anyway." One stated who shrugged into a clean uniform.

"Usually he really isn't, only when a) someone gets killed, b) Connor Temple pisses him off or…" and the soldier smirked as he said that. "…when Miss Parker gives him a hard time."

The others frowned and Johnson started to explain while he tied his boots: "Miss Parker is our field coordinator and there seems to be something going on between them, but it's quite complicated because our Captain is brilliant in the field with the creatures but when it comes to women: he is hopeless."

"So, if you want to survive around here: be aware of the creatures and stay away from Miss Parker!"

* * *

><p>Becker hit the wall. <em>How does she do it?<em> He kept asking himself again and again.

Basically it was simple: in order to keep her safe he had to stay away from her.

Simple to understand, but then Jessica would step in front of him with her short colourful skirts, give him one of her beaming smiles and babble something totally incoherent which would totally piss him off if it was any other person, but Jess would just smile and blush and he'd just imagine how she looked naked. _How exactly did this happen?_

Becker groaned cradling his head in his hands.

He never wanted to let anyone close to him again, because he just didn't want to feel the pain again that came with it. Besides he didn't want to cause anybody else pain, because let's face it, sooner or later he would probably die during one of the missions.

Somehow this innocent young girl had found a way to secretly settle down in his heart and it scared the shit out of him.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile Lester talked to Connor who was quite upset because his friend Duncan had called him to report mysterious disappearances.<p>

"Connor, he is a savage, he completely lost his mind!"

"But do you remember last time? There was a creature living in the pipes under the city, I told him to call me if he ever found something suspicious again and this really looks like serious stuff!"

Lester leaned back in his chair. He rubbed a finger over his bottom lip while he read through the articles again.

People had disappeared, mysterious blood trails, noises, smells and a bloody legend that reporters used to frighten the citizens of a small Scottish village.

Lester sighed and eyed Connor who looked serious. No joking around this time.

"Well…" He picked up his phone "Jess, team meeting, now!"

Connor grinned.

"Oh, stop grinning, I didn't say you could go!" Connor stopped abruptly.

"James, what is wrong?"

"Matt, sit down. Have a look at this." James Lester handed the newspaper articles over to the efficient team leader. It seemed like nothing could ever upset him, Matt was always calm and cool and that was only one reason why he was an excellent team leader. He never lost his temper.

"The others are on their way." Jessica announced as she entered and sat down in a corner.

"Thank you, Parker." Lester answered but never took his eyes away from Matt who examined the papers.

Abby and Emily entered next so Becker arrived last.

"So?" Lester asked. "What do you think?" Matt handed the articles around to the other team members.

"It could be a creature if you ask me, either that…"

"…or someone plays a bloody bad prank." Becker finished and Matt nodded.

Lester snorted.

Jess grimaced as she read through the report.

"Where did you get these?" Abby asked. Her boss looked from her to Connor who sank a little lower in his chair. She looked at her boyfriend.

"Connor?"

"Duncan found 'em." Becker groaned:

"Perfect a lunatic."

"Hey!" Connor protested. "Do you remember last time, he was right there, wasn't he?"

"Oh yeah right, that was when one of my man GOT KILLED!"

"Becker." Startled he stared at Jessica. "What is wrong with you today?"

He breathed heavily staring at her a little longer before he looked at the floor. Emily saved the situation: "So, does this mean we're going to Scotland?"

All eyes were on James Lester.

"I'll have someone investigating the cases tomorrow and decide then. For now you are dismissed, except for Miss Parker, there is paperwork to discuss."

* * *

><p>Later as Jessica made her way back to her ADD a soldier approached her.<p>

"M'am." He cleared his throat. "It's Lance Corporal Cooper, Captain Becker wanted you to have the reports on the security systems and weapon stocks." The young soldier handed her some papers.

He watched her out of green smooth eyes.

"Thank you, why doesn't Becker give them to me himself?"

"Uhm, I think he is just…busy, M'am."

"Busy? Mh…but well, for god's sake never ever call me M'am again!" Jess smiled as she stretched out her hand. "I'm Jess!" The soldier took her hand and returned her smile.

Small wrinkles appeared around his eyes which made him look very nice and maybe even handsome.

"It's Julian Cooper, nice to meet you."

"Becker gave you a hard time this morning, didn't he? I'm sorry about that, he's nice really, he sometimes just exaggerates." Jess started to babble.

"Well, that's what everyone says but since now I didn't really believe it."

"Why now then?"

"Because you look too nice to tell lies."

Jess laughed: "I thank you for the compliment. Well, tell Becker he shouldn't let you suffer because of his personal issues."

"By all due to respect, Jessica, I simply don't dare to tell him that." Jess chuckled:

"You know what's good for you, well, if you need anything else, you know where to find me."

"Thanks Jess."

The blond soldier left her alone.


	2. Chapter 2

The next morning came and was pretty uneventful besides the fact that Jess was pretty tired because she'd been up almost all night, thinking about her live, Becker and her friends and...Becker... and she watched Breakfast at Tiffany's.

She felt pathetic.

* * *

><p>The mentioned soldier was sitting at a table near the ADD. He had decided that only because he couldn't be with her didn't mean that he couldn't be near her.<p>

He knew he shouldn't because this was making it even harder but he figured since they were probably going to Scotland for a few days that would give him the space and time he needed to detach himself. However, for today he allowed himself to enjoy having her close.

Suddenly his ears took in some faint noises. Low and peaceful.

He looked around surprised but then he noticed they were coming from the ADD. He moved closer and the scene that was displayed in front of him made his heart swell with his hidden feelings.

Jess supported her head with one hand, her eyes were half closed and stared at something very far away, and on top of that she hummed quietly: _Moon River, wider than a mile, I'm crossing you in style some day._

If he wasn't mistaken it was the theme song of Breakfast at Tiffany.

_Oh, dream maker, you heart breaker, wherever you're going I'm going your way._

He smiled and got kind of lost in the scene, so he watched her for another 10 seconds and was somehow shocked as he noticed that he could keep watching her forever.

Then he didn't know what had hit him, maybe Connor had gotten the better of him in the end, anyway he brought his lips down next to her ear and whispered softly:

"Jess, what's the raptor there doing with Lester's car?"

She mumbled something inaudible but jerked suddenly.

Already typing away on her keyboard, suddenly wide awake, as her face went pale.

"Predator, what? Where did it come from? Wha…" She checked the CCTV and frowned.

Suddenly she noticed that Becker was laughing.

Her eyes grew wide as she looked around, scared.

_Becker playing pranks? Laughing out loud? Jessica you are either dreaming or you are being punk'd! Ashton?_

She smiled confused.

"Jess, you are irreplaceable!" The soldier calmed down. He looked at her: cheeks flushed, big scared eyes, confused frown and this little pout of her lips.

He felt his lips curl up in a smile.

All of a sudden Becker jerked, noticing that he'd just been standing there and staring again!

He cleared his throat: "Uhm, er sorry. It was just…I…uhm…should better go do some…security stuff…"

He left the room quickly.

For once Jess was speechless. She still didn't understand what just happened.

Matt entered the room that second.

"Jess? You are white as a sheet."

"Can you pinch me? I think I am dreaming!"

Matt frowned shaking his head: "If you mean that you have seen a dinosaur, frankly you are not."

"Oh, really? That is so funny Mr Anderson!" Matt winked.

"Has someone seen Rex? Lester is going to kill me! Please Jess you have to deactivate the lock down program till I found him!"

"You lost Rex?" Matt and Jessica asked Abby in unison who looked at the floor.

Matt and Abby left quickly while Jess disabled the lockdown program. She crossed her fingers that nothing would go wrong, then she left to help their colleagues.

* * *

><p>They found Rex eventually and luckily without any other incidents.<p>

As Jess looked at her ADD she froze and squeaked: "Abby!"

The young woman was pointing wordlessly at the table.

A small single rose lay there.

Jess eyes started to gleam. Her heart fluttered.

"I told you he'd come around! I knew he would!"

Abby picked the rose up but Jess snatched it from her instantly and smelled it.

The scent was sweet and heavy.

"What tells you that it's from Becker?" Jess looked at her friend surprised.

"Who else should it be from?"

"Jess, this is just…"

"I told you about today! Yesterday he was so angry but today…You should have seen the look in his eyes! It has to be from him!"

Abby sighed: "Jess, please don't get your hopes up!"


	3. Chapter 3

**So, chapter 3, here we go, but I hope you like it, because it's not really my best one, but I promise that the story will develop in the end. (Well, I think it does;))**

**Thank you so much for reading!**

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><p>Lester confirmed the same day that the team was to go to Scotland by a helicopter as Matt had requested.<p>

"You refused me the tank but Matt gets a bloody helicopter? What the hell!"

"Becker please, this is no kindergarten. You don't need a tank!"

"But a helicopter!"

"Indeed, for occasions like this it is very useful!" Lester said grimly.

* * *

><p>It was raining and the small town looked deserted but peaceful.<p>

"I have never been to Scotland before." Connor said as they walked through the empty street looking for a pension.

"Well, I got family in the north." Abby said.

"Why don't I know that?"

Abby shrugged: "You never asked." Becker and Matt grinned and chuckled at Connor's stupid face.

"Welcome to Scotland." Matt said.

Connor pulled a face.

On their way to the pension where the team was to stay they didn't meet a single person.

Some curtains though got drawn in front of the windows as they passed.

"This is creepy." Connor stated.

"Think so?" Emily asked. "Reminds me of my street back home." She shuttered as she thought about her past.

The pension was a small house and from the outside it looked really sweet.

In the basement was a pub and it looked like everyone met up there to talk, drink and celebrate.

There were flowers in front of every window.

A woman greeted them inside at the reception.

She willingly gave them their keys and everyone except Matt made their way upstairs to the rooms. Matt stayed behind pretending to tie up his shoe lace.

"Are there lots of people around at the moment? Me and my friends wanted to have a peaceful holiday, you see. We came all the way from London."

The woman was around 60 years old, short and round. At first she eyed the young man suspiciously but soon went into her gossip mode.

"Oh, there aren't many people around at the moment don't worry."

"But this place looks so lovely, I'm sure it's packed in summer? I thought it would be great to do some hiking out in the highlands."

"Well, we wish there were more tourists coming here, you know we are kind of dependent on them, but since this terrible incident with…" She quickly put a hand in front of her mouth as if she let a secret slip.

"Incident?"

"Oh, it's nothing, don't worry!" She was probably afraid they'd leave again immediately.

"Do you mean the legend of the hiker, who haunts the streets and hills at night? Murdering campers and lost hikers?" She gasped and whispered:

"You heard about that?"

Matt just nodded and looked at her with stern eyes: "Yes, I think it's fascinating! Have you ever seen the ghost?" The woman snorted: "Fascinating?"

She sure thought by now that the man was totally mad. "There is no ghost! So nothing to worry about!"

"Oh, I am not worried, just interested in the murders that recently happened."

"Are you from the police?" Her voice dropped an octave and she looked around as if she expected undercover agents or hidden cameras everywhere. Matt sniggered:

"No, I am not. But didn't the police investigate the cases?"

"Of course they did, but…well, you know, when people are scared…and how do you arrest a ghost?"

"Yeah, I suppose that's not easy. Well, I think I'll go upstairs now, thank you for your frankness."

She nibbled at her bottom lip considering if she should warn this young man.

Matt had almost reached the stairs as she called him back.

He turned around again but the woman had already reached him:

"Uhm…"She cleared her throat but was still whispering. "Well, I just wanted to warn you, most of the people around here don't like it if strangers ask questions."

He nodded and went upstairs.

* * *

><p>"So…" They had all met up in a room, only Abby was missing who wanted to buy some water. "The receptionist really believes in the ghost story, they are dependent on tourists who don't come since the murders and it seems that most of the people don't trust strangers."<p>

Becker rolled his eyes: "Small town people."

"So, we all agree that there's a creature out there and no ghost, right?" Emily asked.

"A creature, yes, either a prehistoric one or one from our time." Matt said.

"You mean, like a human being?" Becker said and Matt shrugged. Emily pulled a face:

"Do you really think a person is doing this? But why?"

"I just wanted to say that we shouldn't jump to conclusions, before we didn't search the area."

Abby entered then: "The shop assistant is wearing a huge tooth around his neck. He said he'd found it in the woods near the place where they found the dead hiker. He suspects a werewolf."

Becker laughed out loud. "He also said that there's something, well, the "werewolf", creeping around at night and if I wanted to be able to fly back home I should stay inside as soon as it gets dark."

"Can we be sure now that it's not a human being?" Emily asked.

"Unless it is a werewolf!" Connor stated but Becker smacked his head. "Have you ever seen one?" Connor asked rubbing his head. Becker looked reluctantly at him, arms crossed in front of his chest.

But Connor just grinned: "So, how can you be sure they don't exist? There are future predators, why not werewolves?"

Becker just wanted to give a vicious reply as Matt said: "You have a point there man."

Becker faced him flabbergasted: "Are you serious?" Matt shrugged:

"I never believed in those things, but can you proof him wrong?" Connor stuck his nose up in the air, determined.

"This is ridiculous, there are no such things." Abby joined Becker's side.

There was a knock on the door.

The old woman stood in front of it: "Mr Anderson, I am sorry, there's a girl on the phone who wants to talk to you."

They looked at each other frowning and pulling out their mobiles simultaneously.

"Oh, you won't have any luck with them." The woman said. "Mobiles never work around here!"

Their eyes grew wide.

* * *

><p>"Jess!"<p>

"Matt! Is everyone all right?"

"Yes."

"I couldn't reach anyone! All your mobiles are dead as well as the black boxes!"


	4. Chapter 4

**I told you I'm not so good at writing action scences (Strill need to practise that! I'm really sorry!), **

**but the Jecker fluff that's coming up is way better, I promise!=)**

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><p>When Matt returned everyone stared at him expectantly.<p>

"That was Jess, it seems like there was a huge solar flare that knocked our GPS-satellite out."

"So, does that mean we have to go blind now?"

"Probably."

"Great!" Connor scoffed.

Becker realised just how used they'd all gotten to have a pair of extra eyes and ears.

"We did it before though, didn't we?"

"Becker is right, we don't have a choice, though Lester wants to know if it helped if Jess flew over."

Becker swore silently. All he wanted to do was to forget about Jess for a few days.

_Was that too much to ask for?_

"How exactly should that help us?" Emily asked and Connor explained:

"Well she could bring some walkie-talkie's and a laptop with…oh!"

"What?" Abby asked as Connor's face lit up.

"That's it! This would be the perfect opportunity to test my new CCTV system!" Connor got all exited. "I invented small cameras that we could wear on our missions and they don't need the satellite. I thought it would be convenient in an area where there's no CCTV system Jess can hack, but on second thoughts maybe it wouldn't be that effective because Jess would only be able to see the area from our perspective instead of having an overview over the whole field and besides that I'm not sure about the sound system yet, for it would probably just carry the rustling of our clothes, but anyway I would love to just test them you know."

"Well, sounds like a plan." Matt said. Becker was about to protest but closed his mouth again.

How the hell could he persuade them that Jess's arrival wouldn't be a good thing? She was part of the team and it really was easier with another pair of eyes and ears looking out.

* * *

><p>So Matt called the ARC and requested if Jess would be available for the mission.<p>

She was.

So much for getting away from her and not having to think about her, Becker thought bitterly.

However Jess would only arrived the next morning with all the equipment she needed.

The search without her, meaning without any method of communicating with each other, had been very difficult to coordinate, not speaking of being able to be sure that no one disappeared.

Never the less there were no new results, they had found absolutely nothing besides the fact that the people looked at them as if they themselves were the killer.

* * *

><p>So now everyone got ready for the new search, this time with their brilliant field coordinator again.<p>

Abby and Connor was the last pair to leave, but before they could Jess needed to tell Abby something.

"You were right by the way."

"Huh?" Jess made sure Connor wouldn't hear her, but he was too occupied with the cameras and his laptop. "This morning, I found another rose, which means they can't be from…"

Abby rubbed her back: "I'm sorry Jess."

"I got it all installed and upgraded!" Connor said that second. "Jess, come here, so this is the…"

He explained all the technical details before they finally left to search their told territory.

Jessica got herself a bag of crisps and watched the surveillance cameras the team members were wearing now.

"Jess, do you hear me?" Abby asked. Her voice was muffled.

"Very badly actually."

Connor gave her some advice as how to find the right frenzy, but it didn't get better.

"Guys, we found a trail of blood!" Becker announced.

He gave his coordinates and Jess watched the black line on the ground which they followed, but the picture came and went.

"I can't really see, Becker!" Jess said typing on the laptop.

"There'sssss…a…here…fou…ly…a…"

"What? Becker, I can't hear you!" Jessica said and tried to get a better connection.

There was a lot of rustling and the picture's colours changed to black and white.

Before all the lines went dead.

* * *

><p>"Does anyone read me? We found a dead deer!" Becker repeated, but all he heard was strange kind of sizzling. "Damn!"<p>

He took a closer look at the shredded body at his feet. It must have been here for merely eight hours. Warily he looked around, surly the creature would come back for it.

The forest was too silent he noticed and peered carefully around him.

_Was there something watching him?_

"Does anybody hear me?" He tried again but there was no signal.

"Hey, Donald, let's get out of here." He said and turned around him to where his soldier had stood only a second ago.

"Donald?" Becker turned around again, but his soldier was gone and the daylight already began to fade. He cursed again and started slowly to back out of the forest, aware of every movement around him.

* * *

><p>"Okay, this doesn't work at all!" Emily said throwing the camera and ear piece onto the desk.<p>

"I was so sure!" Connor said. Abby put her hand onto his shoulder and Matt decided they'd try again tomorrow.

Becker entered the room that moment: "I lost my soldier!"

"What?"

"We found a dead deer and a second later Donald was gone."

* * *

><p>"So, let's hope they will work today." Matt said over the coms.<p>

"I can still hear you, Matt." Jessica answered.

"I modified them, it should be fine." Connor answered.

Jessica sat in the small hotel room, watching the team's back. The satellite was still not in place, or maybe it was really just one of the rare spots on earth where the technology just couldn't grab a hold, for whatever reason.

They covered the other side of the small town today but found nothing which made clear that whatever was out there was in the forest.

The soldier remained missing and no one was comfortable about it, but they couldn't do anything but keep looking for him.

The day passed, but without any results, except for the one that Connor's cameras didn't work at all.

"I know we probably shouldn't go, because it doesn't feel right with a man missing, but there's a karaoke thing tonight in the pub and the whole town will probably be there, maybe we can gather some more information?" Jess suggested as the others returned.

Emily agreed: "There is nothing else to do and I think it could also be nice anyway."

"I think so too. Let's have at least one nice evening between all this crap going on." Abby said, so everyone agreed, even if reluctantly.


	5. Chapter 5

He didn't want to come.

The day had been so disappointing, they found nothing but blood and the locals really weren't helpful anyway. They were all scared and suspicious.

Becker had stepped under the shower. The hot water had been quite comforting; it actually had loosened his tensed muscles. He had turned on the TV but couldn't concentrate on it.

_So what now?_ He had asked himself looking around in the empty room. Finally he had grabbed his keys and left.

* * *

><p>So now, he was standing there in the crowded pub. He didn't believe it as he spotted Abby and Connor on the stage performing a duet.<p>

"Becker!" Matt yelled and waved him over. Jess smiled at him and Becker immediately regretted that he came. That she had come was not good.

He would never be able to resist her.

"You came!" He just nodded.

The song ended and the crowd cheered. Matt laughed applauding.

It seemed like everyone really had a good time.

"Sh, hey guys!" Abby cleared her throat and spoke into the microphone. "Sorry, but earlier this evening I told my friend Jessica-over there- that I'd only sing if she did too, so give it up for Jessica Parker!"

The crowd turned around to stare and cheer at Jessica who turned pale first and then crimson red.

Becker's heart fluttered and his stomach tightened.

The crowd chanted: "Jess, Jess, Jess..."

She surely felt uncomfortable, Becker already thought about taking her outside but then she just drew a deep breath, straightened her shoulders and walked up to the stage.

The soldier raised his eyebrows. There were only a few times when he had been really impressed by something but this was certainly his number one now.

"Hey everyone! Yeah, I told Abby not to do that. "Jess said into the mike and smiled. "but whatever…" Connor screamed her name. "So, have fun!" She asked the DJ for a song and he nodded.

Becker took in her appearance just now. Her hair was curly and she wore a knee length black dress with a wide pink belt to emphasise her slender hips. She had pink high heels and a matching necklace adorned her neckline.

He tried to breathe even.

As the first beats played everyone cheered again.

The whole team laughed, this was a scene he had never seen before nor had he ever imagined to see something like this. It felt so unreal to him.

Then Jess started to sing: "I used to think maybe you love me now baby I'm sure, and I just can't wait till the day when you knock on my door."

Becker couldn't help it, so a bright smile settled on his face.

"I'm walking on sunshine, ooooooho"

_This was so Jess!_ He shivered.

She looked so happy and at ease. Although she definitely was no singer it was really good. He couldn't do anything else but admire her.

A little voice in his head asked silently if there really was no way that she and him…he quickly shook it off, his life was far too dangerous for her, there was no future.

As the song ended there were shouts, cheers and whistles.

All of a sudden Becker's muscles clenched.

A wave of envy rattled through his body and made him sweat. He didn't know how but suddenly he wasn't just Becker but Captain Becker the soldier. He watched every male who came near Jess.

As the young woman made her way back through the crowd some men came pretty close to her which obviously scared her a little. She looked so fragile and in his security motion Becker would do everything to protect her.

Someone grabbed her ass but she spun around so quickly that her small fist connected with the guy's face before he could even manage to say hello. Her friends laughed as they watched the scene.

"Little Jess is not as innocent as she seems."

"Careful Matt about what you're saying" Jess waved her first and laughed.

_He had to get out of there as soon as possible._

"Hey action man, are you okay, mate?" Conner asked. Everyone eyed Becker now.

"I…uhm, I guess I should rather go and sleep for a little while, I don't really feel that well."

He quickly said goodbyes and left the pub. Images of Jess and other men ran through Becker's head. The caveman in him growled and screamed.

He had to leave before he did something stupid.

_What the hell had he been thinking?_


	6. Chapter 6

_There was a knock at the door._

_Becker was all sleepy but answered it anyway._

"_Hello Hilary!" He held his breath, now wide awake._

"_J-Jessica?"_

"_May I come in?" Her voice was seductive, calm, deep and smoky._

_She didn't wait for an answer as she stepped into the room_

_Her hair brushed the soldier's jaw which made him get goose bumps. She was wet and it looked like she'd been running through a heavy rain._

_Becker closed the door. Her sweet scent lingered in his nose._

"_What do you want?" She laughed before she glanced at him over her shoulder. "Oh you know what I want." She stripped off the black raincoat revealing a red tight short dress underneath. The dress left no room for imagination. Becker gulped._

_Electric shocks ran over his body._

_The woman turned around slowly, her wet hair was plastered to her skull. She made her way to the bed and sat down on the edge._

"_You know what I want." She repeated. His body started to sweat ._

_Jessica spread her legs. His heart raised._

_She wiggled a finger at him and slowly lay down backwards onto her elbows. Her look was rich of lust. Becker's member stirred. This could never be true._

"_What are you waiting for soldier?" She lay down flat on her back and writhed. Every cell in his body wanted to explode._

"_Come over here!"_

_Two long strides and he was suddenly on top of her. _

"_Oh Becker!" she moaned. His groin hardened even more as he kissed her fiercely. A grown escaped his throat as they rolled over the bed._

_Her skin was so smooth. His body screamed for her touch._

_When had they gotten rid off the clothes?_

_Her hot wet core was resting over his erection. Teasing him._

_So, this was how dying felt?_

_He couldn't wait any longer so he grabbed her behind and thrust into her hot flesh. She gasped._

_He had no control anymore, not at all. He met her middle again and again and again and again…_

* * *

><p>Becker was covered in sweat, panting heavily as he jerked upwards.<p>

He was in his hotel room, in his bed, fully dressed and alone.

"Oh my god!" He gasped and fell back onto the mattress. Sex dreams…he was so screwed!

The soldier got dressed and went for a run.

The wet silver raindrops still decorated the grass and trees. He felt how the tension wore off. He sat one foot after the other, the monotony was soothing. All he could hear was the thud thud thud of his sneakers and a mocking bird cawing somewhere in the woods. The cold air burned his lungs but he kept on running until he couldn't feel the sensations of the dream anymore.

His breath came in short gasps. He had rounded the small town and decided to walk back to the pension. What an odd place this is, he thought.

People were dependent on tourists although they hated them at the same time. They rather kept to themselves. Everyone knew everyone and everyone talked about everyone behind their backs.

He hoped they'd find the creature quickly because all he wanted to do was to go home!

Becker walked to the back of the pension where you could enter the building over a wide patio. He walked up the three stairs that led to the platform, just then he noticed Jessica who was leaning against the banister, a mug of coffee in her hands and a wide woollen scarf around her shoulders.

"Oh, morning Becker!" He stopped.

"Morning."

"How was your run?" She smiled.

"Refreshing." He walked towards her. "You are up early"

"How do you know I am not a morning person?" She turned towards him, her eyes gleaming.

"Er…right, so are you a morning person?" Jess laughed, shaking her head. She turned to face the view of the highlands again. "Nah, not really, I just had a lot to think about…" _You and me, for example._ "Well but you seem to quite enjoy yourself right? Well, er I didn't mean that in an unsuitable way, I just mean, er, last night in the pub or the running now…no Lester who pesters you, right?"

Jessica bit on her tongue. _How did she always manage to tell so stupid things when he was around?_

The soldier had closed his eyes.

The images of last night haunted his mind.

His plan to finally detach his feelings from her, went totally wrong.

"Becker, are you okay?"

"I wish you would stop that!" _Oh no! Please don't!_

"Er…Excuse me?" She thought she didn't understand him correctly.

"Jess, stop this!" He opened his eyes again. "I…phew,I…I can't be with you, Jess! So please just leave it!"

Her jaw dropped as he watched Becker retreat.

"But…what did I do?"

If she had only known that Becker couldn't bear her presence because he desired her too much.


	7. Chapter 7

**So, Thank you so much for reading! I hope you still like it and that it does make sense to you, I kind of wrote every chapter seperately out of order and put them together later. So I hope you can follow my train of thoughts, also in the upcoming chapters!**

**Enjoy!=)**

* * *

><p>"All right!" Matt said.<p>

The team stood in front of the area they had marked earlier. It was the most possible place for a creature to hide.

"Abby, Connor you search that way. Emily and I go that way and Becker…"

"…and I'll take in the opposite direction." Jess approached the team who stared at her.

"What? There's nothing else for me to do. The satellite still isn't working, Connor's cameras aren't effective at all and you can't expect me to sit around and wait for you to return or…well, you can't just expect me to do that! So, I'm coming with you!" she rammed her feet into the ground crossing her arms to declare her point.

Becker groaned inwardly. _This can't be happening!_

The way she stood there like an annoyed child was just too cute to be true. Matt couldn't possibly let her out in the field.

"Are you sure you can handle this?"

Jessica grabbed an EMD from the truck behind her and nodded firmly.

"Matt!" Becker accused.

"Becker, we are one man short anyway and…"

Becker snorted.

"What the hell is your problem?" Jess yelled. "You know I can defend myself!"

"You aren't trained well enough!"

"I've handled worse!" The soldier grinded his teeth. He couldn't let her do it. _This was far too dangerous for her._

Jess stared at him. _Did he think she was week? Maybe that's why he told her to leave him alone._

But she had waited long enough and wasn't giving up just now without any explanation.

She just wanted to know why? _Why had she been so wrong about him, his feelings?_

"Fine then, Emily would you mind going with Becker? Jess you can join me."

"No no no no! If Jess is coming she's coming with me!" Becker fought to remain in control.

He couldn't let her get hurt, he had to make sure that she was in no danger and the only way he could control that was to watch her every single second out there.

At the same time he knew that he was making it even harder for him!

_Didn't she listen to him this morning? Damn, she was stubborn! …and that was only another reason for his affection._

Matt sighed hanging his head. That was one stubborn Head of Security!

_His guilt will kill him someday,_ he thought grimly.

"Let's go." Abby said quietly.

So everyone marched off in the said direction.

* * *

><p>"I thought we were friends?"<p>

"We are!"

"But you are behaving odd, Becker!"

"Don't be silly!"

They made their way through the silent forest.

EMD's ready, looking and listening for anything that didn't belong here.

The ground was covered with wood, moss, twigs and leaves, they couldn't see where they were going. No bird was singing.

The silence lingered heavily over their heads, and the clouds seemed like a thick black layer.

If it got any darker they had to cancel the search.

After a while Jess collected all her bravery and said:

"I thought maybe we could talk."

"About what?" Becker snapped though he hadn't intended his voice to sound quite that harsh and felt sorry about it right after the words were out.

"This morning?"

"There's nothing to talk about!" Her heart sank.

She had hoped he wouldn't have meant it, but she wasn't so sure anymore.

Her best friend Harriet had warned her about it.

She had told her not to get her head into it so much, that she totally started making things up and more important than they really were. Jess fought the moisture in her eyes.

All her life her mother had told her to be more rational, because Jess was someone who would fall heels over head quickly, getting all exited and even more disappointed in the end.

_Okay then,_ she thought_, let's be more rational_:

_He brings her chocolate – what exactly does that proof?_

_He teases her – hm…_

_He protects her – as well as everyone else._

_He looks at her with this longing in his eyes… – Does he really?_

_He is often in the hub when she's around – He probably just really has to work there!_

_He told her he can't be with her – He is probably really just not into her at all!_

Jess's mood sank even lower as she realized that she probably really just invented this whole romance.

She watched Becker sneaking through the forest.

Tall, dark haired, muscled, brave…a hero…and only her invented dreamboat.

She swallowed her tears and clasped the EMD in her hands.

As much as she wished to be at home now with a large pot of ice cream in hands, she braced herself for the rest of the day. The world wouldn't stop spinning, she would get over it eventually…maybe…someday…

She thought about Julian just as a twig snapped behind her.

"Becker!" Her eyes grew wide with shock.

"Just leave it, Jessica!"

Then he turned around and saw what she saw.

The creature was ape like, just that this one preferred meat rather than bananas.

"Don't move!" Becker hushed. Jess's eyes reflected fear.

The creature hadn't noticed them yet, but it sniffed the air for their scent. It was probably blind for some reason.

"All right, I want you to get behind me, slowly and carefully!" Becker whispered pointing the EMD at the creature that moved quickly, jumping from branch to branch now.

Jess also pointed her EMD up in the trees while she made one step after another.

The creature came closer and had brought a friend as they figured just now.

Her heart beat furiously. "Stop!" Becker ordered.

There were three creatures now, making cawing noises in the trees and sniffing.

They couldn't really see them for the leaves were just too dense.

The Captain nodded to Jess to continue.

Another twig snapped loudly under her feet and she froze.

The creatures turned their heads in their direction and squealed.

"Run!" Becker yelled, but only after two steps it was like someone had pulled a rug away under her feet.

There was rambling and cracking sounds, drowning Jess's scream.

She fell hard and her head spun for some seconds.

Pain seeped through her whole body. She grunted.

As she opened her eyes she saw the dark sky above her through a dense blanket of treetops.

The creatures' screams got lost in the distance.

Jessica was confused and looked around. Becker was a mere metre next to her.

The hole they had fallen into was probably 5 meters deep.

Maybe a trap someone had built to catch whatever was out here in the forest.

She wanted to get to Becker but her ankle ached and the pain travelled through her whole leg.

Becker stirred, he held his head and grunted: "Ah, blimey, what the hell?"

He looked around: "Jess, are you okay?" He looked for his EMD.

"I think I sprained an ankle but nothing to worry about."

"Let me see it." He touched her ankle carefully and examined it professionally.

He nodded, standing up and looking around: "Looks like someone tried to catch this thing himself. Damn, if they come back for us…"

"…we hardly have a chance." Jessica finished, leaning over to get the EMD she had just discovered.

They checked their mobiles, but none of it was working.

It slowly started to rain.

Jess leaned backwards against the muddy cold wall of the trap.

Becker paced and tried to climb out of the hole but he slipped every time. None of them dared to scream for help, in case the sreatures were still near. It was a miracle that they didn't notice them fall. A real miracle.

Jess wanted to cry, her ankle burnt like fire, but she didn't want to cry in front of Becker now.

* * *

><p>"We've been here for four hours now! What the hell are they doing?"<p>

"Catching the creatures?" Jess suggested with clattering teeth. They were both drenched and it seemed to get colder any minute. It was dark by now in their hole, they could hardly see their hands in front of their eyes.

"Are you cold?"

"A little." She tried to stop her muscles from trembling and especially her teeth from making sounds but she couldn't. The Captain closed his eyes for a second.

"Come here." He sat down next to her and pulled her close into his arms.

_How often had she wished for this?_

And now she was drenched, cold, her ankle hurt, hungry and exhausted.

Becker breathed calmly next to her.

"Gosh you really are freezing." Becker opened his jacket, tucking her under it. Her head rolled onto his shoulder. "You can't fall asleep Jess, do you hear me?"

Her eyes fluttered open again. Now that she was there in his arms, she felt like she could finally relax.

"But I am so tired." Her limbs became heavier and heavier.

"I know, but you have to stay awake! Come on." He shook her lightly. "Tell me something!"

"What should I tell you?" Her voice was slurred. He shook her again.

"Anything!" She drew a deep breath, her eyelids closing again. _This wasn't going to work!_

"Come on Jess stand up, we have to get your blood circulating."

"I can't."

"Yes you can, now come on!" He stood up and pulled her along, carrying most of her body weight that was practically nothing. With one hand he carefully slapped her cheek.

Jessica drew another deep breath and opened her eyes. She blinked a few times, obviously struggling to stay awake.

She didn't feel her legs and clasped at Becker. She was coming round but really slowly.

Her head was too heavy so she allowed it to fall against Becker's chest.

His grip around her tightened.

"Becker…"

"Hey, we'll get out of here, don't worry! I won't let anything happen to you, I promise!"

She nodded.

* * *

><p>"Jessica!" Becker slapped her again. "Stay with me!"<p>

"Mh…" She hadn't noticed how she had drifted off to sleep again. Becker locked his panic away. There was no place for those feelings now, but it was Jess!

_How came he was so torn, just because of this young colourful lady?_

He watched her. _Maybe if he admitted…what was about to happen?_

"Jess, there's actually something I should tell you."

She opened her eyes, struggling now really hard for her brain to start working. "Yesterday, when you…"

He trailed off and she waited when suddenly.

"Did you hear that?"

"Heard what?"

"Look over there!"

There was light above their heads.

"Jessica, Becker?"

"For god's sake where the hell have you been?" Becker yelled up at the others who breathed relieved.

"Are you okay?" Emily asked worriedly.

"Jess has sprained her ankle and I think she has a light hypothermia. Now get us out of here!" he blinked into the torch light.

"All right, Abby's coming down to get her." Matt said and a second later Abby dangled on a rope slowly making her way downstairs.

"Took you long enough!" Becker snapped.

"Well, we have been kinda busy with some very-nice-fluffy-not-at-all-wanting-to-eat-us-ancestors-of-ours, sorry!" She countered. "Why the hell did you have to hide in a hole anyway!"

"Haha, very funny!"


	8. Chapter 8

_Did he really believe in what he was saying?_

_Hadn't she seen it in his eyes? The affection, the lust and despair?_

_What about the chocolate?_

_Was she really only the little sister after all?_

Jess's mind was still occupied again with all those questions after Becker had wanted to tell her something. What was it?

So that night it took hours before she could finally drift into an uneasy light sleep.

* * *

><p><em>There was no single person in her favourite shopping street.<em>

_The wind was whistling and it was cold. The empty street scared her, usually this place was packed._

_Jessica frowned because something was entirely wrong._

_She looked around hectically as the fear tucked on her as cold as the wind that blew through her soft hair._

_Silence. Loud silence puckered in her ears._

_She turned from side to side, watching the street and suddenly there was a man standing 50 meters in front of her._

_He was dressed in black, wearing a hat that covered his face except for his smile that was cold and creepy. He wasn't tall rather small and round._

_A shiver ran down her back. Her heartbeat sped up and Jessica knew that she had to fear him._

_She spun around and wanted nothing more than to get away from him as far and as quickly as she could._

_She tried to place one foot in front of the other, but she couldn't. There was an invisible force holding her back and she struggled against it._

_A look over her shoulder told her that the man moved forward at a normal pace._

_Jess tried desperately to run but the force made her move in slow motion._

_She couldn't breathe._

_The man was hard on her heels._

_Come on!_

_She wanted to scream but the sound got stuck in her throat._

_Suddenly there were people everywhere._

_She didn't know where they came from but for a second she was glad, only for a second though._

_The humans didn't notice her at all._

_They either ignored her or they couldn't see her._

_The man moved closer. Help, Jessica wanted to scream but she failed._

_The strangers disappeared and Becker stood in front of her._

_A gun in his hands, ready to shoot._

_He pointed it right at her. Her eyes widened._

_She still couldn't move but the threat was still behind her. Creeping closer._

_Suddenly Becker shot._

_The bullet soared towards Jess who held her breath watching the tiny metal ball cutting through the air. No! That was the end! Becker had killed her!_

_But before the bullet could bore itself into her head it took a turn and headed straight for her pursuer._

_The man dropped immediately and his blood was building a puddle around him._

_Suddenly Becker stood right in front of her._

_His hazel eyes smiling at her._

"_I told you I would do nothing to hurt you, right?"_

_A little smile tucked at her lips._

_A shot rang out._

_Becker opened his palm. The bullet in it smoked slightly._

_In a blink of an eye he was gone and Connor was there instead._

_He pointed to the sky, beaming._

"_There! It's not a bird! It's not a plane!"_

_What?_

_She couldn't see anything. Where was Becker?_

"_No no no! He is crashing!" Connor yelled._

_There was a loud bang, smoke and screams._

_In the next second Jessica was kneeling next to an injured Becker covered in blood._

_A piercing scream cut through the air._

* * *

><p>It felt like ages until Jess recognised that it was her own scream. She panted heavily, looking around in the darkness. Seconds later she recognised her familiar surroundings.<p>

Her bed, her nightstand, the chair and the wardrobe.

_Thank god!_

The cool sweat was stuck to her shivering body.

Only a dream she whispered.

She leaned back against the cool wall while she recalled what she had just seen.

She shuddered.

Jess had never told anyone but she had had this dream before, because she was just as scared to lose Becker, while he played saviour of the day, as he usually was for her.

She eyed the clock: 3.20am.

Hell, she wished she could call him to ask if he was all right!

Jess slid back under the covers, pulling it tight around her shaking body. How she wished that he would be there next to her!

A single tear drowned in her pillow.


	9. Chapter 9

After the incident in the forest Jess couldn't help but felt that Becker was pulling away from her once again.

_What kind of game was this?_

Abby was probably right after all, Jess thought bitterly.

She took out her mobile and flipped through her contact list, from A to D. Dave.

Her thumb hovered over the green button. She hesitated.

Staring at the display with sadness in her eyes.

After a moment Jess threw the phone back into her handbag.

_Later!_ She declared. _Yes, she would call him later!_

* * *

><p>"Jess, are you sure you don't want to go home?"<p>

"Yes, Matt I am sure! My foot feels fine, I can walk propperly and I have been home yesterday, remember? "

He sat down on the edge of the ADD staring at her which she thought looked like brotherly affection.

"Only one day!"

He was sensitive enough not to mention the accident further.

Jess thought about her empty flat and shuddered. "Really I am fine." She tried to smile reassuringly, but she looked tired none the less.

Then Matt squeezed her shoulder. "How about a tea break, then?" She sighed:

"Sounds good!"

The two of them made their way down to the cafeteria.

* * *

><p>As she returned to the ADD there was another rose.<p>

She was annoyed at first, because she stll didn't know the sender, but she had to smile as she smelled the luscious scent. Someone tried to make her day a little brighter and she felt grateful for the little present that always made her smile. It was nice to assume that someone cared for her.

The young woman was far too romantic to give up on the tiny seed of hope buried deep down in her core that she might get what she hoped for in the end.

Though the seed shrank from day to day and on the one hand she wished it would disappear instead of causing her pain.

* * *

><p>Becker paced up and down the corridor. He had deliberately avoided Jess. He had saved her, once again, once again the hero he didn't feel like.<p>

Everyone saw in him the everyday hero, but his own reflection just showed him a coward.

_Hell!_

He wanted to make sure Jess was okay, when he saw her briefly this morning she'd looked so tired and pale.

He was a man, lost to his sexually drives and a soldier, marked by his honourable upbringing and virtuous manners. It tore him apart!

Full of rage he entered the room he should sure stay away from.

Becker gave the lead to the soldier inside of him as he approached Jessica.

She didn't notice him and as he got closer he saw why. She looked down and sniffed dreamily at a red rose in her hands.

He raised his eyebrows.

Then she turned towards him.

"Oh I didn't see you."

"Yeah, uhm, I was, er wondering if you were okay?"

"Ja, sure." She said, spinning the rose in her hands.

She looked kind of pleased he noticed. Something in him stirred, probably the locked caveman, as he motioned to the flower. "Nice flower."

She nodded staring at the red petals. "Who is it from?"

Her head jerked upward while her cheeks flushed.

Her eyes stared almost accusingly at him, as if something had been shattered inside of her. "Uhm, well, I don't know. It's the third rose I got, actually." She stared at it lost in thoughts for a second. "It's nice, don't you think? Kind of simple and sneaky." She managed a smile. "Maybe it's a secret admirer."

The caveman definitely stirred now.

"Three roses and no name? That's all he could do?" He snorted.

Her jaw dropped before she flushed with anger: "Captain Becker, I don't think it's up to you to criticize!"

"All I meant was…"

"I don't care! It was rude! Someone does me something good and all you are able to do is to spoil it for me!"

"I didn't spoil it for you!"

"Yes, you did! Go, I don't want to see you again today!"

Becker clenched his fists so his nails bored into his palms and he wouldn't smash anything. His green friend jealously trailed mockingly behind him.

Abby didn't believe her ears!

She didn't move for a minute trying to understand what had just happened.

Then she followed Becker to his office.


	10. Chapter 10

„Becker, what's wrong with you?"

"Nothing!" He grumbled.

"Well, that didn't look like nothing!"

Becker sat down at his table and started to clean his weapon.

"Becker!" He ignored his colleague. "Come on! There is so much tension between Jess and you. Everyone can see that there is something going on! And everyone knows that she has a crush on you and you know it too!" The soldier stopped what he was doing.

_He had known it, right?_

In the forest he was so close to admit it, but fortunately the team had stopped him from making a mistake.

"She told you anything anyway, didn't she?"

"Even if, I want to hear it from you!" Abby waited.

Becker chewed on the insides of his cheek, considering. Abby's voice was calmer now:

"Becker, come on! I know that if you want to, you can be man enough to admit your feelings. So, what's going on?"

He looked at the table, fists clenched.

"You know, talking helps." Abby suggested and suddenly Becker jumped up, knocking over the chair. He grabbed his hair and paced. "It is not right!"

"What isn't?" Abby didn't understand.

"It's wrong Abby! I can't like her, I shouldn't!"

"But you do?" He was still walking up and down the room but Abby stopped him. "Hey!" She looked right into his eyes: "You do like her, don't you?"

He stared back. There was a lot of frustration in his look and some sort of sadness lingered over his head.

"More than I should." He turned away.

"But, why is it so wrong?" Abby threw her arms up in the air in a helpless gesture. Becker rubbed over his face before he picked up the chair and sat down.

"Because she's too young!" He spread his legs leaned forward and cradled his head in his hands.

"She is only a few years younger than you are, that's not that much, Becker. So what else is there?"

Becker looked at her face: "Abby people die around here! Jess almost died! Let's assume I give it a chance. What if I die?"

"People always die, not only around here! And as I know you, you will always come back, because you are brilliant at your job and as for Jess, she knows the job and the consequences. She has seen all of it, she is able to decide herself what is good for her! By the way, you saved her life, remember? She didn't die!"

Becker stood up again, staring at the wall, arms crossed. He raised his voice. "Abby, what if I fail to protect her? I couldn't live with that!"

Abby turned away from him, sighing, but then she faced him again:

"You know what? You are right!"

He was totally gobsmacked: "What?"

"You are totally right!" She crossed her arms in front of her chest: "She shouldn't do such a dangerous job. She is young, has got her whole life in front of her." Becker frowned as Abby continued: "I think I'll tell her to hand in her notice."

"Abby."

"No, seriously! Of course, the two of you still couldn't be together, because you could die, but at least she would be safe!" Abby's tone was so casual that he actually didn't know if she was being serious.

"But then again she'd had to find another job, a job that is safe. I mean, she could accidentally stab herself with a pair of scissors." Abby drew in a sharp breath. "What if she got an electric shock, falls down the stairs…"

"Abby."

"…or gets run over by a car?"

"Come on that's not what I…"

"…not what you mean? No? Some wanker could meet her in a pub and kill her. A meteor could fall out of the sky! Becker, the whole world is a dangerous place and things just happen!"

"This is silly, Abby!"

"Is it? You know what I was just thinking? How silly it actually is to marry Connor! Seriously, what if one of us dies?"

"Don't be ridiculous!"

"No no no, really, Becker, thank you! You just opened my eyes! Oh my god, this could have been bad! I'll go straight away and tell him that we can't get married!"

"Abby, stop it! That's just stupid!"

"No it's not! It is the same situation! Look at Matt and Emily, how happy they are! Aren't you the least bit envious?" He didn't reply.

"Let me tell you something Captain! Try not to think so much about the future, live your life now! All the moments I had with Connor, the good ones and the bad ones, I wouldn't trade them for anything! If I had the choice between a save life alone or a dangerous life with Connor, I would always choose Connor! And this might also be the point where you should realise that the safest place for Jess is actually right there next to you!"

Becker sighed leaning back against the wall.

He thought about Jess.

The soldier saw her image in front of him. Everything he loved about her, the short skirts and dresses, the colours, her radiant smile, the pouting of her lips, her bravery, her eyes…

_Was Abby right?_

_And what if she was? _

There was a knock at the door.

"Hey guys!" Connor greeted. "Er, Abby are you ready? I would love to go home."

"I'll be right there." She smiled at her boyfriend. He understood and smiled back before he retreated.

The blonde woman turned to the Captain again: "Becker, go to her, talk to her. She won't be waiting for you forever." The man looked up at her as the words reached him.

He thought about the look in Jess's eyes when she had stared at the rose she received.

No, she wouldn't Abby was right. He would probably lose her before he even had her.

It was probably time to make a decision.

_He was trying now for weeks to get over her…weeks!_

_Was there even a point?_

_Or was he just fooling himself?_


	11. Chapter 11

His pager woke him the next morning.

An anomaly this early was not what he had hoped for at all.

Captain Becker didn't feel rested, for his dreams had been very confusing, a blur revolving around him Jessica, her secret admirer, Abby, and a dragon.

Jess wasn't in this early, so the night shift told him that the anomaly was in an ice skating rink.

_Brilliant_, he thought sarcastically,_ as if his job wasn't already hard enough without a slippery surface._

So he wasn't too thrilled as he figured out that the anomaly was in the centre of the arena.

"Has anything come through yet?" He asked Matt who stared at the blinking light from a safe distance.

"Don't think so."

"Can't we were spikes?" Becker asked, grabbing the locking device.

"If you happen to have some on you, be my guest." Matt stated and actually grinned slightly. Becker just rolled his eyes as always. "Come on, let's get this done and then I can get myself a coffee."

"Uh, beware action man without his morning coffee: more than lethal!" Connor said but yawned none the less.

After the coffee Becker was so going to kill him!

He and two other soldiers skittered over the sparkling surface. One slipped and fell, but as Connor was about to laugh Abby pushed himself onto the ice so hard that he slid over the ice almost down to Becker's feet.

Everyone laughed as Connor tried to get up but failed. "Not funny!"

They strolled off towards the anomaly.

But the nearer they came the more they started to slip on the surface.

"What is this?" One of the soldier's asked.

Connor had a device in his hands. "Guys be careful this one has quite a big magnetic pull."

On cue Becker slipped and fell. His EMD skittered over the ice. "Damn!" He cursed under his breath and tried to get up again without success.

"Becker…"

"Temple, shut up!" He tried again and slipped but suddenly noticed that he was moving.

His face was contorted into a mask of shock as he realized that he got sucked into the anomaly.

There were shouts of advice but he didn't hear a thing. He just saw the light coming closer and closer.

* * *

><p>The soldier landed hard on the other side of the anomaly.<p>

He cursed silently while he looked around frantically, what time was he in?

But the soldier could relax immediately for he was in a little backyard in London with cars moving up and down the street.

Becker sighed.

At least nothing prehistoric would kill him in this time. He stood up and looked around.

The backyard was small and only a fence separated it from the street. There was a little shack in one corner.

The house in front of him was small and had probably three levels so a typical detached house somewhere in London.

The garden was lovely and you could tell that somebody loved to take care of all the rose bushes and the cherry tree.

He spun around as the anomaly closed with a hissing sound.

"Crap!"

Something behind him clattered and he turned as quickly as possible, crouching in case of an attack.

The woman on the patio squealed bringing her hands up in front of her face.

To her feet lay various things that had fallen from her hands.

Becker stood up holding his hands up to sooth her.

"It's all right M'am. Don't worry I won't hurt!"

The woman had frozen.

Becker looked at her, waiting for a reaction. He was afraid he'd given her a heart attack.

_Who could blame her?_

If he had a person dressed in a black uniform suddenly standing there in his garden, without knowing that time travelling was possible he'd be just as alarmed.

The woman still had her hands in front of her mouth, a gesture of shock.

The soldier swallowed.

He took in her appearance. She must be in her fifties, he thought, her skirt was knee length and in a dark green tone, she wore a matching blouse with a brown vest and her shoes were ridiculously high.

At that familiar item he had to suppress a smile as Jessica's image appeared in his mind for a second.

The soldier wondered if she was okay.

He cursed himself before he remembered where he was.

He had to make sure he was okay here before he could think about finding a way back.

He still held up his hands: "I'm going to approach you now, okay? Don't worry, you are fine!"

Carefully andslowly he stepped nearer.

Soft sobbing noises escaped her throat.

Her auburn hair was put in an untidy bun.

Becker noticed that tears were leaking her eyes.

There was something unsettling about it which made his stomach turn.

He frowned and stepped closer, out of curiosity now about the sudden familiarity he felt.

_Who was she?_

Her blue eyes pierced through him before she closed them as another sob escaped her.

She was muttering something inaudible under her breath.

The soldier was standing in front of the patio now.

The woman wiped her tears away. She crossed her arms in front of her chest as if she had to hold herself together to not fall apart.

"I thought I'd never see you again." She said and smiled mockingly at the ridiculousness of the scene she had wished for so often.

Becker drew in a sharp breath.

His face slipped and he was starring wide eyed at the woman in front of him.

She would dream about this scene every night, but not like this…

Becker held his breath.

Siren's were heard and came closer.

The woman looked startled at first but then she reacted pretty quickly.

She jumped off the patio, pulling at Becker's arm: "Come on, they mustn't see you! Quick!"

She pushed him into the small garden house at the far end of the grass.

"Not a word!" She ordered and closed the door. Becker was speechless anyway.

_How was this…No, this couldn't be! This was_… He tried to bring his thoughts into order when only one minute later other voices were heard:

"We had an anomaly alert. Is everything all right?"

Becker peeped through a hole in the wood.

There were six unknown soldiers.

They were all dressed in black but a dark blue logo on their vests said in bold letter's: A.R.C Anomaly Research Centre.

_That couldn't possibly be true!_

_They detected undercover!_

"There was one here but it disappeared again right away, nothing came through."

"Nothing?" The Commander approached her menacingly and Becker's hands balled reflexively into fists. As confused as he felt there was still this strong need to protect Jessica Parker.


	12. Chapter 12

Lester pinched the bridge of his nose closing his eyes.

Matt sighed heavily. No one said a word.

Lester had ordered the alpha team and Jess into his office to inquire the recent happenings.

He had lost his best soldier._ What a day!_

"But he will reappear won't he? Somewhere?" Jess's voice was small.

Everyone looked at her with an equal expression in their eyes that told her that they all hoped for it.

* * *

><p>"No, nothing." The older image of Jessica Parker crossed her arms over her chest staring back at the harsh Commander with confident stern eyes.<p>

The soldier squinted at her, his nostrils flared before he turned around.

"All right then, you heard the woman. Search the area anyway." Jessica hissed.

The soldier smirked: "Miss Parker, it's not as if we wouldn't trust you." His tone implied the total opposite apparently. "But you know the protocols. Once a traitor always a traitor. Oh, did I just say that?" He playfully covered his mouth before his face became ice cold again. "Turn the place upside down!" He bellowed.

Becker jumped quietly up to one of the wooden beams and pulled himself up. He hid himself up there under the roof of the shack in the dark and tried to digest what he'd just witnessed.

There were shouts and various clattering as the soldiers searched the area.

After half an hour they announced their retreat but not without reassuring that they'd keep an eye on Jessica.

After another five or ten minutes the shack door opened with a creak.

"Becker?" her voice was shaking.

Almost soundless the soldiers landed on his feet in front of her on the ground.

She hissed startled but regained composure quickly.

They stared at each other.

Just then Becker really saw her, her eyes looked tired, her skin drawn and full of wrinkles, her hairline was slightly greyish.

"Jessica?" Becker asked. He couldn't help himself but he had to make sure that it really was his Jessica. "Is it really you?"

She just nodded. Moisture filled her eyes again.

She reached out her hand to touch his face. The soldier didn't dare to move.

Inches in front of his face Jessica quickly pulled back, she turned around hugging herself tightly:

"Hilary, you have to go!" He shivered as she called him by his first name, no one besides his family ever did.

"But…" She held her hand up to silence him, still standing with her back to him.

"No, don't! Please don't ask any questions!"

"But Jessica what is this here, what has happened?"

She shook her head. Becker rounded her trying to look into her eyes.

"You mustn't know and you know it! I can't tell you!"

"Jess…" he looked at her. "How old are you?" He whispered and suddenly she looked up. There was pain and loss in her eyes: "59."

Becker bit down on his lip. He didn't know what to say.

Jess stared at his face.

She remembered as clear as rain the day he had disappeared.

She shook the memory off.

"Please, Becker you…" Suddenly she trailed off. _It didn't have to be like this!_

She stared at him. She knew what to do.

"Come with me. Quickly, and don't let anybody see you, they're probably observing the house."

"Why? Jess what happened to the ARC? Where's the team?"

She froze for a second but then marched on. "Follow me."

They made their way to the house the path was fortunately lined with some bushes behind which they could hide.

The house was as small as it looked from the outside.

Somehow it was familiar to Becker, but he just couldn't grab why.

Jess rushed upstairs and Becker followed.

She went to her wardrobe and pulled out a drawer.

He noticed that there were no photographs in the house, nothing that he was used from Jess. _Was she living here or someone else_? There was also only one cushion and pillow on the bed.

The woman emptied the drawer that contained socks and tights.

He wondered what she was doing until she pulled a second base out of the drawer.

Becker gasped.

There were lots of technical items and a gun hidden.

"Here we go." She muttered. She pulled a necklace out that had a key on its end.

"Hilary, listen to me very carefully now!" She touched his hand but quickly pulled back again, shocked about her action. She didn't dare to touch him. There was too much desire and pain involved.

Becker's face became a severe mask of seriousness. Jessica held the key in front of his face:

"You have to go back and give this to Matt. It is very important! Tell him that Robert was right and that this is the key to the chest. He'll know what to do. Tell him that he should trust his intuition, he was right all along." Her eyes became sad and lingered on the floor for a second.

Then she looked up again: "Did you understand Becker?"

"Jess, I am not dumb."

"Sorry, it's just really important." She said sheepishly. She let the key fall into Becker's open hand.

He noticed a ring on her finger. It was silver and had three tiny diamonds in it.

He really liked it.

"You have to go now!" Jessica said quickly and pushed him out of the room.

"And how am I going to get back?"

"I'll open an anomaly for you."

"What?" He raised his voice and froze, but Jess pushed him forward.

"Don't ask, just go. We have to hurry. I don't want anything to go wrong, this is too important!"

She pushed him down the staircase and the familiar feeling tucked again on Becker's insides.

At the bottom of the staircase he turned around again:

"Stop! What exactly is going on?"

Jessica's lip trembled in excitement as she stared at him.

_He was so handsome!_

She breathed.

"Everything went wrong, after…"

"After what?"

…_after you disappeared_, she ended the sentence in her head which she was shaking now violently:

"No no no! Please don't make me to tell you! You are not allowed to know!"

She pushed him again.

They went into the living room, the biggest room in the house. Jessica pulled the curtains.

"They are probably distrustful now, so we have to hurry!"

She pulled an item out of her pocket. It wasn't bigger than an i-pod and looked very similar to one as well.

The soldier watched her typing away on it while he wondered if she had lost her mind.

He looked around the room.

Recognition suddenly dawned on him.

"Oh my god…is this?" He looked at her: "Is this my grandma's house?"

He couldn't believe it. Jessica petrified.

"Maybe." She mumbled and went on.

Becker took a closer look, he faintly remembered playing in this house as a kid.

_But why was Jessica living here?_

He watched her curiously. _What the hell had happened?_

Suddenly red lasers came out of the device in Jess's hands and formed the shape of a ball.

It twisted and turned. A light gleamed in its middle and grew.

It grew until it had the full size of an anomaly.

Jess turned to an astonished Becker.

_This wasn't possible!_

"All right, this leads to your time. Hurry up before the soldiers come again!"

He stared at her flabbergasted.

She looked at him and suddenly hugged him so tightly he wondered if she could actually squash him.

He heard her sobs and wondered again what had happened, but he knew she would never tell him.

Then she whispered into his ear: "Another thing: please listen to me when the next anomaly opens up! Please listen to me, no matter how hard it might be for you!" She looked into his face, her hand cupped his cheek. She had always wanted this so badly but it was too late now for her, maybe her younger self still had a chance. "Don't be stupid, Hilary. Don't let me go!"

The soldier was so gobsmacked by her strength and attitude that he couldn't react as she collected all the strength she had to push him through the anomaly.

The anomaly closed but the blare of the siren's remained.

She collapsed to the floor, crying.

Images flashed through her mind.

"_Becker!" she had yelled as he ran through the anomaly._

"_No!" She had told him not to, but he hadn't listened. It was in his nature to be the hero._

"_Nohoo!" She had waited with her team mates for him to reappear._

_They had hoped until the time frame had closed._

_He never returned._

And that was when everything suddenly got out of hands and went down the drain.

It was as if every good thing had disappeared with him.

She had waited day and night for him to come back to her.

But he didn't.

Today had been the first time she had seen him for 38 years and not really him anyway, only the younger version of him.

A little seed of hope though settled in her stomach.

If he listened to her now, maybe the future wouldn't be like this.

Maybe he could make it right or maybe the future was set and couldn't be changed.

* * *

><p>"Hi there. How about a coffee?" Julian Cooper asked and put a coffee down on the table next to Jess's keyboard.<p>

"Thank you." She managed to smile.

"Are you okay?" Jessica nodded. These last five hours she had tried to ban Becker from her mind, but she failed.

"It's hard to lose a friend, I know." Yes, that's why she bothered so much, she said to herself. Even though she had to bury their future, he was still her friend, wasn't he?

As long as she could have him in her life, she decided, it didn't matter if she wasn't allowed to touch his skin, but to just admire him from the distance, at least for a while, until she could move on.

She looked at him curiously. Julian shrugged: "I lost a lot of friends down in Afghanistan and life still goes on. Don't worry Jessica I haven't known the Captain for a long time but I believe that he really is a fighter. He isn't lost yet. So don't worry!"

It was nice of him to comfort her. "I know he will." She was tensed, a strange feeling settling in her stomach. As on cue the alert went off.

Matt rushed to the ADD. They all stared at the screens.

"Where is it?"

"Right outside the ARC!" Jess zoomed in on the blinking light that staggered.

"Something's coming through!" Matt stated and ordered the soldiers who were already in position in front of the anomaly to stay calm.

They stared, hearts beating wildly, as the seconds dragged on.

Suddenly the Captain stumbled out of the light that closed right behind him.

"Don't shoot! Don't shoot!" Matt shouted in the coms for the soldiers had immediately raised their weapons at the figure that came through.

The corners of Jess's face raised for a brief second, she leant back in her chair.

"What is all the fuss about? And why is my alpha team leader watching a screen instead of going for an anomaly?" Lester asked from behind them.

Matt had his arms crossed in front of his chest while he observed how the soldiers took care of their Captain. Lester mimicked his pose watching the screens himself as Matt said:

"Seems like you don't have to look for a new Head of Security for the current one was delivered directly in front of the ARC."

"Well, that are news I guess. Saves me lots of paperwork."

"I'll go check on him." Matt glanced briefly at Jess who wondered if he could read minds.

Lester retreated as well so Julian cleared his throat:

"The Captain has a brilliant timing. Now I don't have to feel too bad for asking you out. It wouldn't have been the right thing to do with a missing friend."

Jessica thought about it for a second. _Why not? Maybe some distraction did her good?_

Suddenly the penny dropped: "The roses…Are you the sender?"

The soldier winked.

She tilted her head.

"All right then."

"Really?" Julian smiled.

* * *

><p>Becker showered in the locker room. The hot water rushed over his body and released the knots in his muscles. His eyes were closed and he just stood there letting the water work its magic.<p>

There was so much on his mind. All those questions.

He took deep breaths.

Matt was waiting for him outside of the shower.

They talked while Becker got dressed.

"Are you all right, mate?"

"I think so." Becker sighed though.

"Where have you been?"

Becker snorted in an attempt to laugh at the sarcasm: "The future."

Matt raised his eyebrows. The Captain stared in the air for a moment before shaking his head and putting on his trousers. "Only a few years though, so I didn't have the pleasure to meet any predators."

"That's a way to put it." Matt shook his head. Suddenly Becker's eyes widened as he remembered something.

"I've got something for you."

"What?" the soldier rummaged through his dirty clothes and pulled out a key dangling from a leather lace. He placed it into Matt's palm.

"I am to tell you that you were right all along and that the key opens the chest, whatever that means and there was something else…oh, yeah, and that you should listen to Robert."

"Who's Robert?" Matt asked, staring at the key in his hand. Becker shrugged.

"She said you'd know what to do."

"Who said?" A sigh escaped Becker's throat when he stopped lacing his boots. After a short silence he answered: "Jessica did."

"You met her? In the future?" Matt didn't know if he was to be shocked, indifferent or amazed.

"Yeah." There was some kind of sadness in the Captain's eyes Matt couldn't quite grab.

"Do you want to tell me?" He asked instead of demanding because he was the one who knew best about the effects of too much knowledge.

Becker shrugged: "I don't know if I should, you know how it is about the future." They sat in silence, both lost in thoughts as Becker asked whispering: "Will it come true if I tell you? Just because I have already seen it and am speaking about it? Does that make it come true?"

Matt shrugged: "If I knew the answer I would tell you. So it wasn't pleasant what you saw?"

Becker shook his head.

He went on lacing up his boots and that was where their conversation ended.

Matt had his own riddle to solve now and Becker decided he wouldn't tell anyone, because he thought that spoken aloud the possibility that it came true was bigger.


	13. Chapter 13

He heard the clang clang of Jessica's heels on the floor.

She opened the door but as she saw him, her radiant smile vanished. There was a big question mark on her face.

"What are you doing here?" She asked bluntly straight away.

"Hey. Well…" Becker ruffled nervously through his hair. "I just wanted to talk to you for a second. Uhm, may I come in?"

He had spent the entire night thinking about his trip to the future and what consequences it might have on his present life now.

The woman stepped out of his way and motioned him into her flat.

Becker made his way through the short hallway into the living room.

The flat was a bright as Jess's personality. He had fought a losing battle in throwing her out of his heart. Every time he closed his eyes he saw her radiant smile turn into that torn sad face he'd seen in the future. He didn't want her future to be like that!

He turned to look at her and noticed that she was wearing a dark blue elegant dress.

"Oh, do you want to go out?"

Her attitude towards him was cool. Jess didn't want to give him the impression that he was her weakness, not tonight, not anymore. She wanted to get over this soft spot, after what had happened more than ever. She just thought that she couldn't bare his strange mood changes anymore. He behaved more childish than Connor.

"Yes, I do." Becker just looked at her, so Jess added. "Lance Corporal Cooper asked me out." _Why, did you say that? That's none of his business! How does he do it? _

His bloody brown eyes, that made Jess spill everything, she hated him.

Becker opened his mouth but closed it again.

His mind was suddenly a blank page.

"So, what did you want to tell me?"

_Abby was so right! _

"I, uhm…" _wanted to come clean about my feelings. _"Doesn't matter, actually!"

Becker walked back to the front door. "I'm sorry, I disturbed you! Oh and actually I am also sorry for the fight we had." _Perfect_ _timing, Hilary! _"I hope you have a nice evening, Jessica!" I _wish it was me._

She had followed him: "Thanks, Becker. But what was it about? I mean you came to my flat so it had to be important, right?" He waved it off:

"Nah, really nothing. Don't worry about it!" _I love you._

The soldier was already half way out of the door as he turned around again.

Jessica looked at him with her big bright doe eyes. She was so small.

Her perfume tickled Becker's nose.

"Cooper…he's a good guy."

The night swallowed the young man.


	14. Chapter 14

Jess leaned against the closed door.

_What was that about?_

But she didn't have time to think about it, because Julian was punctual and in a very good mood.

He wore dark jeans, a white button down shirt and a casual black jacket. He was handsome, there was no denying in that.

"Hello there. Wow, you look beautiful!" He kissed her cheek. Jess smiled at him.

"Thank you! You look pretty good yourself!" Julian Cooper grinned and winked at her before he offered her his arm: "So, shall we?"

"So where are we going?"

"Do you like Spain?"

"Yes, I think so."

"Do you like Spanish food?"

"Mh…I never really tried it actually." Julian pretended to be shocked:

"What? Oh dear, this is a disaster!" He laughed. "No, seriously. I know a very nice Spanish restaurant, they have the best paella all over London!"

"Sounds very nice."

"Hola Seniorita."

"You speak Spanish?" Meanwhile they had reached the car and got in.

The soldier chuckled: "No, not really." Jess laughed.

This could become a very nice evening if she would be able to forget about Becker's visit.

The restaurant wasn't far.

It was a nice small place.

"Have you ever been to Spain?"

"Yes, once, but I can hardly remember, because I went there with my parents at the age of 4 or 5 I think." The young woman giggled at the memory. "I just remember that there was an artist at the beach. He had built lots of sculptures' out of stones. It must have taken him ages, but I didn't really understand it and was so curious that I ran up to them to touch them, how was I supposed to know they were so brittle? I destroyed most of them. He was so furious, yelling at me in Spanish, of course I didn't understand a word and just ran away, scared as hell. I think my parents didn't even notice what I had done."

They kept talking like this. Easy and light.

But Julian did most of the talking, for Jess felt really quite relaxed, her thoughts wandered off all the time.

Suddenly Julian put his hand on top of Jessica's. She look up a little bit startled and noticed that she hadn't been listening to him.

"Jess, are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm sorry, I am fine!"

"Come on, what's going on?"

"I think these last days were just a little bit too much."

"Something is really bothering you. Do you want to talk about it?"

He looked at her with sincere interest.

Jess head dropped, she was sitting here with a handsome young man who had an eager interest in her and she was thinking of a man who didn't want her. No, she couldn't possibly tell him!

"It has something to do with Captain Becker, hasn't it?"

Her head jerked back up: "How do you know?"

Julian smiled: "I saw his car leaving your place. Jess, it's okay. I actually never really thought I could stand a chance anyway, but I just figured that I had nothing to lose. I was really surprised as you said yes."

A wave of relief washed over Jess.

"I am sorry, Julian."

"Don't apologize! I knew what I was getting myself into. But I have to admit that I don't really understand it! I mean, are you two going out?"

Sadness washed over her face and a taunting laughter escaped her throat:

"I don't even know anything about his feelings for me! It's just so…frustrating! I don't know where I stand, I don't know what to do." She didn't intended to tell him anything but the words just poured out of her. "I mean, he told me he doesn't want to be with me, then he saves me, yells at me and tonight he dropped by! What the hell is that supposed to mean? The whole situation is ridiculous!"

"I don't think it is. I find that the Captain has a very interesting and difficult character. You'll never know what's on his mind and he seems to feel guilty for almost everything."

Jess nodded absently.

"Yeah, he does. He thinks he is responsible for every death caused by a dinosaur."

"Do you know if he ever goes out? I mean just to have some fun and relax?"

"Only very rarely I suppose."

"He's too hard on himself."

"It's what makes him such a good Captain." Julian raised a corner of his mouth:

"Probably, yes."

There was silence. Jess picked at her food with her fork.

"I think he cares for you a lot."

Their eyes met. The soldier's look was reassuring.

He wiped his mouth with a napkin and put it next to his plate.

"Hey, I don't like to see you this torn and I think you will never have any peace before you don't solve this problem, so how about if I drive you over to Captain Becker so you can finally sort this mess out." Her jaw dropped and for a moment she could just stare at him.

Jess shook her head: "Oh, I can't let you do that! I promised you a date and I am already ruining your evening!" But a small voice in her head told her that it wasn't what she really wanted.

The man stared at her until Jessica snorted: "Is there a course at military school where you learn how to stare people down so they'll give in?" He laughed:

"Of course there is, what did you think we were doing? Practicing to shoot, crawling through mud? Please…"

"Yeah, what the hell was I thinking!"

"So come on, let's go, so you can fix your life and I can go to a club to find a back up date." Julian winked at her.


	15. Chapter 15

Julian Cooper parked the car in front of a building with seven floors.

Becker lived in an apartment on the seventh floor.

Jess looked at the building and breathed. Was this the right thing to do?

"Come on, Jess! Do you want me to wait?"

"No no no!" She immediately said. "I feel bad enough already! You are not going to wait! You go on and have fun!"

He chuckled: "Yes ma'm!"

She had her hand on the door handle but hesitated.

"Thank you Julian. I owe you!"

"All right, you owe me a dinner and a dance." Jess smiled:

"Deal."

She was half way out of the car when she turned around again to whisper:

"He said you'd be one of the good guys."

Julian was silent. _Wow!_

"I guess that's a real compliment from him."

Jess knees buckled. _What was she going to say?_

She watched the door that seemed to tower over her like a dark shadow.

_All right, here we go._

Her hand trembled as she knocked two times, very faintly.

_Come on, Jess! You can do this!_

She knocked again with more force this time.

Footsteps came closer but before Jess could escape the door opened.

Becker was wearing a simple green t-shirt and black jogging pants, his hair was wet for he had just had a shower and originally planned to watch a movie to distract himself.

"Hey Becker."

"Jess! Are you okay?" He looked behind her into the dark corridor. "Weren't you supposed to be with Cooper?"

She sighed and pushed passed him into his flat. Becker closed the door and followed her, being confused. There were a lot of questions on his mind then. He wondered why Jess was there.

"Becker, tell me why you came to my flat." She turned around to face him.

His living room had a nice high ceiling and actually it was quite pretty, there was a huge window on the one side, a big black couch, a flat screen and the most shocking thing probably were the pictures on the walls.

"I…just…wanted to see if you were all right. Where is Cooper?" The soldier stammered.

"That's all?"

"Yes. Jessica, what happened? What about your date?"

"Argh, would you forget about that stupid date for a second? You are freaking me out!" She stamped her foot like an angry child. Usually Becker loved it, he found it amusing but in that moment she really meant it.

"Jess, what is going on?"

"Don't you think you owe me the truth?"

"What truth Jessica? What are you talking about?" His heart told him that he knew exactly what she was talking about.

"Becker, at first you bring me chocolate, you saved my life, you tell me you don't want to be with me, you saved my life again, you drop by at my flat…what am I supposed to think?" Becker rubbed his neck and breathed deeply.

"Well…"

"What kind of game is this?" The young field coordinator squinted at him.

The man swallowed and started to feel uncomfortable under her stare.

"No game." He replied.

"What did you want to tell me?" Her voice was low but fierce. As she stepped closer Becker's heart pounded heavily.

"You should go back to your date." He whispered.

She was only a few inches in front of him now. Her blood pulsed through her body. She was scared.

There he was, the man of her dreams, standing in front of her. She looked at him and wondered if this was one of these moments: _Now or never?_

_What if he rejected her? And what if he didn't?_

"We're friends, right?" He swallowed as he got lost in her eyes.

"Right." His voice was weak. _How does she do it?_

She stepped even closer: "Just friends?"

Becker swallowed.

Jess watched his lips, hot arousal settled in Becker's stomach. He smelled her perfume.

"Have you never wondered how…" Her voice was the one from his dreams. "…it feels to…" Her face, her lips moved closer, he sought control over his senses that were screaming something he didn't understand.

It was hard to concentrate, never the less, he turned his head to the right in the last second.

"Jess, I don't think this is…" She dropped her head against his chest.

"What? A good idea?" She sighed.

Becker didn't answer. _This was what he wanted, wasn't it? Why couldn't he give it a go?_

Her body against his send electric shocks through him.

"Have you?"

"What?" He frowned.

"Have you ever wondered what it would be like?"

The soldier was shocked. He didn't know what to say.

He thought about that at least a hundred times every day.

Jessica interpreted his silence in another way.

She turned around: "Good bye Becker."


	16. Chapter 16

He was caught in a daze and couldn't react quickly enough.

The door closed.

_What had just happened? She wanted him, didn't she?_

_What about him?_

Suddenly he remembered her senior self: _Don't be stupid, Hilary. Don't let me go!_

"Jessica!" He yelled racing to the front door. "Jessica, wait!"

He could still hear her shoes on the stairs as she was making her way downstairs.

"Jess!" His voice echoed of the walls while he half jumped half ran down the stairs, trying desperately to reach her.

She didn't wait though.

Becker's heart pounded._ It was now or never, wasn't it?_

He suddenly realised what had really bothered him concerning his visit to the future.

A little voice in his head had been sure that somehow it would work out between them, that he would always be near her somehow, but he hadn't been there in the future.

Suddenly he walked slower until he stopped.

_He hadn't been there._

All the pain in Jessica's face as she had seen him.

_She had been living in his grandma's house._

_Why? Did she think he'd come back there?_

_How had she lost him?_

There were still so many questions that made his head spin.

The front door out to the street smashed shut.

If he had…would die, maybe it was better if he let her go.

The soldier turned and started to make his way back upstairs.

He had…would…gosh this was complicated…hurt her anyway, so he could never really spare her any pain. The question was: _what would be less painful?_

His hand slid over the cold metal banister.

He then remembered Abby: _Try not to think so much about the future, live your life now!… I would always choose Connor! And this might also be the point where you should realise that the safest place for Jess is actually right there next to you!_

He stopped walking.

Julian and Jess flashed through his mind and in the next second he was flying down the stairs again.

The soldier pushed the door open and ran as fast as he could.

He wouldn't screw up this time.

His feet carried him through the dark cold winter night.

It had been a long time and Jess was the only one he could imagine to be with.

The rhythmic sound of his feet soothed his nerves.

He had to round a few corners before he could see a small silhouette disappear into the underground.

He sped up and ran down the stairs to the tube.

"Jessica!"

She gasped but carried on walking. Tears rolled down her face.

_They would always just be friends._

"Jess!"

The Field Coordinator made her way down another flight of stairs as the soldier caught up with her.

He panted: "Please wait!"

She only sped up for there was nothing she had to tell him.

Becker sprang in front of her walking downstairs backwards so he could face her.

"Jessica, I was being stupid, I am sorry. Please talk to me!"

She snapped at him: "There is nothing you can do, Becker! You will always just be like this! You'll talk yourself into feeling guilty for getting close to me. I don't need that much protection! You can't be everywhere and you take responsibility for everything."

This woman really knew him better than he knew himself.

His foot got caught on an edge and the man lost his balance.

He tried to regain it throwing his arms in the air but he had already lost ground.

"Becker!" Jess gasped as she watched the soldier rolling down the stairs until he lay lifelessly at the bottom. "Oh no!"

She hurried to his side.

"Come on Becker, no, please be okay!" she caressed over his hair and his face.

Jess listened to her own breathing while she waited for Becker to wake up.

The soldier swallowed and moaned before he opened his eyes.

"Ouch." The pain rushed over his body.

"Are you okay?" Jessica was frantic now. His skin burned where she'd touched him. Becker propped slowly up on his elbows, Jess was kneeling next to him. "I think so."

Jess sighed: "Don't do that again!"

"Only if you don't run away again." He couldn't name the emotions displayed on her face he just listened to his pounding heart and knew that it really was now or never.

He cupped her head with his big palm and pulled her close. Her eyes were as deep as the ocean and her lips were…

…they were so smooth.

His nerves prickled all over his body. His blood raced through his veins and his heart sped up.

He closed his eyes and savoured the moment.

His tongue slipped into her mouth and explored it.

It felt like he was suffocating.

The kiss was sweet.

Becker lost all control, he just noticed, he never really had a chance against her.

Jess could make him do everything she wanted to.

The young woman broke the kiss and looked at him.

Her body was covered in goose bumps.

Her hands clutched at Becker's collar.

Becker shook his head: "You have no idea how often I had wondered how this would feel!"

He smiled and Jess's expression became tender.

"How does it feel?" She asked. Another devilish grin spread on his face as he suddenly pulled her close so Jess lost her balance and was lying half atop of him.

He kissed her again, with more passion this time.

His insides rejoiced as his heart sped up and his blood pumped through his veins.

"Too good to be true." He breathed against her lips.

Jessica didn't feel the cold anymore that had been surrounding her.

There were only butterflies cart wheeling in her stomach. Her core tickled and itched and she wanted more.

She licked his lips and pushed her tongue into his mouth again. But Becker put some space between them: "How about if we continue this conversation in a comfortable and warm place?" The young woman looked around and noticed that they were still in the entrance of a tube station. She suddenly felt pretty stupid and embarrassed so her face turned crimson. She just nodded.

* * *

><p>Jessica couldn't remember how they had made their way into Becker's bedroom.<p>

He was nibbling at her lower lip which made her shiver. She couldn't get closer to him now and still wanted more.

Becker lay her down backwards onto his bed and buried her small frame under his broad body.

"Jess, if you want me to stop…" She shook her head quickly and kissed him before he could finish the sentence. His blood rushed south and he panted trying to get some air between two kisses. His mind was blank except for his desire for the woman under him.

Jess put her hands up above her head and writhed under the soldier. "You won't get out of this anymore, Captain!"

Goose bumps raced down Becker's spine as Jess hitched her leg around his hip. He felt his groin harden while he was covered in her sweet scent.

Their lips were scorched.

He cupped her small butt with one hand and trailed her neckline with his lips.

Jess nibbled at his ear and he gasped: "Jess."

She kissed his lips pressing her leg against his erection while her hand travelled under his shirt and slowly up his back.

Becker shivered as he felt her nails grazing lightly over his skin.

He groaned and knew that he was totally at her mercy now whatever was to happen.

She turned him over straddling him and removing her shirt.

Becker swallowed at the side of her smooth slender body and plump breasts covered in a blue bra.

Heat was radiating from both of their bodies.

She bent down kissing, sucking his neck. One goose bump chased the other.

Jess gasped as Becker's hands were slowly moving into her panties.

She took his shirt off admiring his strong muscled body for a short second before he grabbed her and was on top of her again.

They shared a hot wet kiss while Jessica's hands caressed his bare chest down to his stomach that pulled together at the touch. It prickled all over his body.

"You're killing me here Jess!" He breathed between two kisses. Jess slid down to remove his pants.

She had also lost her skirt and her bra at some point.

They rolled over the bed savouring each other.

Jess stifled one of Becker's groans with a kiss. She purred in his ear and Becker's erection started to ache. He begged for release. They removed the last parts of clothing quickly.

Her hips were rolling under him now and she moaned into his ear.

A wave of pleasure shook his body. Every nerve in Jess's body tingled.

Becker couldn't stand it any longer and thrust into her. At first slowly and then faster while Jess was rummaging through his hair.

Her flesh tightened around him.

As he finally collapsed on top of her, they were both out of breath.

The only sound was their heartbeats now.


	17. Chapter 17

The anomaly alert was blaring through the silence.

Everyone jumped but Jess was already typing away on her ADD.

The team rushed in to collect their black boxes.

"Jess, what do we have?" Becker asked levelling his head next to hers, his hand resting on her shoulder.

"There's an anomaly in an industrial area, only 20 minutes from here."

"All right, we're on our way!" Matt said sprinting out of the room. "Try to get a visual."

Becker squeezed her shoulder before he left as well.

Jess hacked into the CCTV system of a storage building.

"Matt I have a visual. There's no incursion so far."

"Copy that Jess."

But two minutes later she squealed:

"Guys, you won't like this."

"What is it Jess?"

"Ethan just came through."

"WHAT?"

"Can you repeat that?" Becker asked.

"Ethan came through."

"We're almost there!" Matt replied.

Jessica zoomed in on the scene mumbling to herself:_ What are you up to?_

He looked around and grinned.

"What's he doing Jess?" Abby asked.

"He orientated himself and now he's gone into one of the halls."

"Do you think he knows the territory?" Connor wanted to know.

"It almost seems like it." Jess answered, watching the door of the hall.

"All right, we can see the anomaly now, Becker?"

"Right behind you, mate."

Jess saw the black SUV's on the screen just as Ethan left the building with a canister and a tool box. He saw the cars approaching and sprinted towards the anomaly.

Hate and anger boiled within Becker as he saw the face he thought he'd never see again.

He hit the brakes hard.

Connor bumped his head and Abby hissed as her seatbelt cut into her shoulder.

"Not another step or I'll shoot you!" Becker stood next to the open car door, EMD pointing at Ethan who stopped. He grinned at the Captain.

"Nice to see you again, Captain Becker!"

Becker set his jaw. He had had nightmares about this man blowing up himself and Jessica.

He wouldn't let him escape this time.

Jess zoomed in on the scene. She saw Becker's angry mask.

"Becker, don't do anything stupid!" She said.

The rest of the team had gotten out of their cars as well.

"I'm fine, Jess!" His voice was full of venom.

Ethan smirked: "Oh, Jessica. She still alive?"

"Put your hands up where I can see them!" The Captain bellowed.

"I'd listen to him!" Connor said.

"Come on!" Becker yelled.

Ethan just grinned.

Suddenly someone else escaped the anomaly.

"Danny!" Abby gasped. He looked wild.

"Patrick!" His voice was calm. Ethan just rolled his eyes.

"I should have known it! Tell your friends here to lower their weapons!"

Becker did the opposite and heightened his, baring his teeth.

"I just want to talk to you." Danny said.

"Me too, but only if they lower their weapons!"

"Guys?" Danny asked.

Matt lowered his after a moment as well as the others except for Becker.

"What about you, Captain?"

"Becker…" Matt said and reluctantly Becker did as told.

"What are you up to Patrick?" Danny asked.

"Building another bomb?" Becker snapped. He hated him.

Ethan grinned again: "Maybe."

Becker immediately raised his EMD again but Abby put a hand on his arm.

"Don't let him provoke you!"

He lowered the weapon again.

"Patrick…" Danny started again just as Ethan hissed: "That man is dead!"

They started to argue and yelled at each other.

No one noticed that they slowly approached the anomaly.

Jess was just about to warn them as Ethan smashed the canister into Danny's face and jumped in one swift movement through the anomaly.

Becker shot but missed.

"No!" He yelled and sprinted forward.

He wanted to see him dead. He wouldn't let him escape this time!

"Becker!" The others yelled in unison.

"No, don't!" Abby screamed.

"Becker stop!" Matt ordered but the soldier was still racing for the blinking light.

Connor's mouth hang wide open and Emily raised her hands in front of hers.

They were shouting but the soldier was so in rage that he hardly heard them.

"Becker, no!"

"Becker!"

Jess watched the scene with panic in her eyes.

"Becker, no don't go through! Please, Becker stop!"

He grinded his teeth. That man had nearly killed Jess, Danny, Emily, even himself.

_How could he stop now? He'd kill him and come back!_

That sounded oddly familiar.

"Hilary stop!" Jess wailed now.

_Please listen to me when the next anomaly opens up! Please listen to me, no matter how hard it might be for you!_

His eyes grew wide.

The anomaly came closer and closer.

He wouldn't return!

This was how Jess would lose him!

But his feet didn't stop. The blinking light was suddenly menacing.

The voice in his head suddenly yelled: Stop, stop , stop!

Fear suddenly took over.

He skittered to a halt, one foot in the glistening light.

Becker pulled it back quickly and turned around panting.

Everyone sighed in relief.

* * *

><p>The team collected the unconscious Danny Quinn and returned to the ARC.<p>

As soon as the Captain was through the door Jess ran towards him and threw her arms around his neck, burying her face in his chest. He pulled her close resting his head on top of hers.

"Thank god!"

"Sorry to scare you, but I promised you to listen, didn't I?"

Jess looked up frowning: "When?"

Becker rubbed his thumb over her cheek and smiled: "Doesn't matter!"

Just then he noticed the whole team staring and grinning at them.

He let go of Jess.

Abby laughed: "Becker you are so despicable!"

He rummaged through his hair. Matt rolled his eyes, put demonstrative an arm around Emily and disappeared.

Connor rushed in just then: "What did I miss?"

"Becker being silly."

"Again?" Connor observed the scene. "Oh! Action man, take some action and kiss her already! Seems like the hero doesn't get the girl in this case." He joked.

"Connor Temple!" Becker screamed and stormed after him out of the room. "Uh, oh! Oi, Becker, put the EMD down!"

Abby and Jess just laughed.


	18. Chapter 18

_Hey guys, good to 'see' you again!_

_I know its been a long time and I am sorry about it! I was a little stuck with the storyline and honestly I still am, so this is just Danny Quinn becoming introduced to the new team. I think it is quite funny, but the story isn't really going anywhere. I still hope you'll read it and enjoy it!_

_Thanks. xxx_

* * *

><p>It was early in the morning and everything ran its course.<p>

Jessica just returned to the ADD with a large coffee in her hand. She pressed some keys and busied herself with some paper work.

Suddenly a noise made her turn around but she couldn't figure out what it was.

It became louder and louder, something moved under the table.

A small figure appeared out of the shadows and Jess laughed.

"Who are you?"

Connor laughed while he entered the room with a remote control in his hands.

The little robot spun around quickly and wiggled its head.

"May I introduce you to C2.0!"

"Cute! Hello Walle!"

Connor let the robot make a turn.

"I bet there's a copyright on that name." He said.

"It's better than C2.0! What does that actually mean?" Jess argued.

"Have you nothing better to do than playing around with some silly robot?" Lester asked.

"It's not silly at all! I thought we might be able to use it on the other side of an anomaly and…" Connor tried to defend his gadget.

"Didn't we agree not to go through anomalies ever again?"

Connor wanted to reply but Lester cut him off. "How is Danny doing?"

"The doctors sedated him so they could treat him properly, he'll be up in less than an hour."

"Well, that's good news! Temple, go and do something useful!"

The little robot made a whining sound while it rolled to Lester's feet.

"Isn't he cute?"

James Lester sighed and looked up at the ceiling: "If you wouldn't be such a genius I'd advise you to change your metier!"

"Was that a compliment?"

"I'll check who is willing to hire an overqualified kindergarten teacher." James threatened and walked to his office.

Connor grinned anyway. "He called me a genius!"

Jess rolled her eyes and turned her attention back to the screens.

The robot wheeled around one last time before Connor left the lab with him.

Jessica chuckled.

* * *

><p>Danny felt rested, but the lights were just a little too bright as he opened his eyes. He blinked and tried to remember what had happened.<p>

His first thought was to jump up and make out every possible threat. He had been living too long with dinosaurs to be able to just switch off the strong survival instinct.

But he couldn't move, all of his limbs felt as heavy as iron.

He blinked again.

Everything was quiet around him, so there couldn't be a predator around, he'd hear them miles away.

He tried to swallow, but his throat felt as raw as sand paper.

A picture of Patrick jumped up in his mind and he remembered what had happened.

His eyes became used to the lights and his muscles relaxed.

He sat up slowly.

The room was a typical sterile hospital room, white and cold.

No one else was there with him.

He moaned as he moved. Little needles seemed to pinch him just everywhere.

Danny drew a deep breath and slowly stood up.

The room spun a little but quickly grew still again.

On a chair next to him lay a clean set of clothing which he quickly put on.

As he entered the hallway a man in scrubs moved in his direction.

"Mr Quinn, you really shouldn't move! May I please ask you to go back to bed?"

"Oh, no come on! I feel fine! Besides I finally made it back home, after over a year living with only dinosaurs, so now try and make me go back in there!" He swiftly and boldly, at the same time, moved around the astonished doctor.

"But…" the man tried to protest, although Danny had already rounded a corner.

He looked around curiously and was suddenly pretty calm.

There was no threat here, well, no lethal one anyway. With these threats around here, he could easily cope with.

As he turned a corner he was suddenly standing on a platform looking down into a lab, at the back of which stood a pretty impressive computer.

"Danny! You're up!" Abby's voice called him from behind.

"Hey Abby." The young woman hugged the former team leader.

"How do you feel?"

"A little sore, but at least nothing's going to eat me around here." His glance swept over the room and he took a deep breath.

Abby knew that feeling, the feeling when you realize that you made it back home.

A feeling of safety and deep calmness.

"So, there hasn't been many changes around here, right?" He joked.

"Nah, only bits and pieces. Come on, you have to tell me everything!"

She took his arm and led him to their break room, where Connor and Becker were talking quietly.

They smiled when they saw Danny up and about.

"There he is!" Connor said. "We were just talking about you!"

"Now I feel important!"

"It's good to have you back!" Becker said while they all sat down at a table.

"Becker, don't become emotional now, please!" Danny said in a serious tone but everyone laughed.

"Yeah, don't imagine things now!" Becker replied, but after a short silence he said: "We searched for you everywhere!"

Danny waved a hand: "Not your fault!" And then he grinned. "So there really has nothing changed! Becker is still the guilt in person, I already heard Lester screaming at someone, Connor still the child."

"Oh come on…" Connor argued, but Danny interrupted him indicating him and Abby.

"So, are you two finally, you know…" He whistled.

Abby rolled her eyes and Connor eyed her carefully, but Danny just laughed, even Becker couldn't help but grin.

"What about you, mate? Who's your number one? Still your gun? You really should do something about it!" Danny addressed Becker and Connor and Abby laughed.

"You'd be surprised!" Connor said.

Danny looked at Abby who smirked and Becker who avoided his glance.

"Seriously?" Danny asked. "You have a girlfriend? Man!" Danny said as if he couldn't believe it. "Some much for nothing has changed!"

Becker rolled his eyes: "Why is everyone so surprised about it?"

His three team colleagues exchanged a knowing glance and started laughing.

They heard a sweet voice and looked out of the window into the lab.

Jess was there, talking to a technician.

Danny whistled. "Who is that?"

Becker pursed his lips crossing his arms. He watched Danny scrutinizing Jessica.

She wore one of her bright short skirts with matching high heels. You could already see her miles away as always. Danny took his time to take the young girl's appearance in and Becker didn't like it, but on the other hand he felt pretty smug about it.

"That's Jessica, our field coordinator."

"Field coordinator?" Danny asked Abby. "You're kidding!" Abby shook her head. "Wow!"

Connor chuckled as he noticed Becker.

"Well, that's one welcoming change I'd say." Danny went on and Connor burst out laughing now.

"What?" Danny looked around. Abby pressed her lips together so she wouldn't laugh, but Becker looked menacingly.

"Something I should know?"

"Oh mate, you have no idea…" Connor started but quickly shut up again.

Danny looked from Becker to Jess, he was smart enough to make the connection.

"Her? Are you serious? Becker! How'd you do that?"

"Oh, they danced around each other for like forever and…" One evil look of Becker's made Connor shut up again immediately.

Danny Quinn just grinned and turned his eyes back to Jessica.

Becker did as well.

The technician, a young boy said something and Jess laughed while she signed a sheet. She seemed so at ease. Becker could almost feel her smooth red lips on his. It was a sensation he wouldn't want to miss anymore now that he'd experienced it.

Her eyes were bright and seemed to smile.

Suddenly she turned her head a little and noticed them staring at her.

The boy tipped his cap and walked away, Jessica obviously distracted, mumbled a quick good buy before she looked at her colleagues again, blushing.

Her cheeks had a nice rosy colour now which made Becker actually smile, then making him remember other situations where she'd blushed.

To him it was one of the most endearing things about her.

"Wow!" Danny said raising his eyebrows."I'm impressed!" Becker was pulled out of his day dream back into reality. "But, how old is she?"

Abby tried to cut him off, by making a cutting gesture over her throat with her hand while she shook her head wildly, but it was already too late.

"Oh, here we go…" Connor mumbled.

Becker suddenly looked a little taken aback, biting down his bottom lip.

"What?" Danny looked from one to another until Becker finally admitted: "She is 20."

"So?"

No one answered. Abby and Connor avoided his looks and Becker just pursed his lips watching Jess.

"Now, don't tell me you have issues about it!? It's how much difference? 6, 7 years? Believe it, when I left this time period there were couples with greater age differences! Don't tell me that has changed? I couldn't stand it!" The others, except Becker of course, chuckled and the atmosphere became less severe.

"Come on Becker! You really are a personified big issue!"

"Shut up, Quinn! It's none of your business!"

"All right!"

Suddenly the door opened and Jess walked into the room. She smiled at Danny and offered him her hand: "Danny Quinn! It's so good to meet you! Jess Parker. I am so glad you are okay, I already feel like knowing you!" Jess babbled and Danny suppressed a laugh.

_That was Jess? Becker's girl?  
><em>

"Hey, it's good to know that everyone's life lies in such competent and even pretty hands of yours! As I hear you're brilliant at everything you do." Danny started flirting and smiled charmingly. Abby and Connor could hardly stay calm, while Becker got quite annoyed.

Jess blushed again: "Oh, no no. I am only doing my job."

"But a pretty good one! And I also heard that you're keeping Becker distracted from his guns, no one ever managed to do that!"

Jess chuckled and she looked at Becker who looked very gloomy.

"Aw, Becker come on, that was meant to be a joke!" Danny teased.

"Very funny Quinn! Well, I still have to do some work!" He stood up and left the room, but not without touching Jess's hand while he passed her.

"I bet his doing security stuff!" Connor said and Abby burst out laughing. Jess looked after him.

"Hey, don't worry he can handle that." Danny said and winked at Jess who had quite a bad conscience now.

"He will never forgive you!" Abby addressed Danny who just shrugged.

"He will, we've been through too much together."

Jess managed to smile.

Matt entered the room just then and the whole introducing thing started again.

* * *

><p><em>If you have anything to say you know how to reach me.;)<em>


	19. Chapter 19

_Merry Christmas to you!_

_Thank you for staying with me! I got a few encouraging posts, that's why I am finally posting this chapter now!=)_

_I hope there will be more during the next few days!_

_I am determind to continue this story, please stay with me and forgive me for taking so long. (Maybe most of you know what I am talking about^^)_

* * *

><p>"Jess, tell me what you see." Matt asked over the communication system.<p>

The team was out to investigate an anomaly in an office building that had been cleared because of a fire alarm.

Jess dragged all the CCTV footage she could get from floor 6 onto her screens. The whole floor had been locked so nothing, no creature should be able to leave it that is if it isn't able to chew itself through the walls.

"The anomaly is on the 6th floor in the third hallway. It isn't a big one, but some kind of fog is coming out of it and about to cover the floors. I can't see if anything comes through or not."

"Copy that Jess."

She listened to the plans they tried to make, about what to do first, simultaneously she tried to watch the CCTV footage for any movement.

"Hey Jess." Danny appeared behind her, leaning over her so he could watch her screens as well.

"Hey. How was the shooting?"

Lester had prohibited Danny to go out into the field because he had spent too much time in the jungle and should do some training before he was "let loose on the public again". They had had a huge argument about it, but in the end Danny had to succumb.

"As if I'd never done anything else. So, what's happening over here?"

"There's some fog coming out of the anomaly and I can't see the floor."

Danny squinted at the screens. Jess handed him an earpiece: "Wanna listen in?"

He took it smilingly, if he wasn't allowed to be out there, he could at least see and hear what was going on.

"The fog is on the floor which means it is heavier than air and probably poisonous."

"It is poisonous." Connor confirmed holding some kind of gadget in his hand. "And freezing, I hope you all have got warm socks."

"All right we're going in now."

They opened a heavy glass door and slowly walked into the hallway.

Abby locked the door behind her again, while Becker already moved forward to the next corner.

"You should find a higher position, just in case something is hiding in the fog." Danny said.

"I think I saw something." Jess suddenly jerked.

"What did you see?" Matt asked.

"I am not sure, something long and black and…"

Becker shot something invisible and a cackling sound was heard over the coms. Then another shot.

The CCTV showed the lightings from the EMD. The fog was hardly disturbed and looked like a smooth surface, but under it something was definitely moving.

"I can't see anything!" Becker complained.

"Over here!" Abby shouted and managed to push some metal lockers onto the floor, with Emily's help. The team climbed onto them and stood a few centimetres over the fog now.

"So, we have to get to the anomaly and close it." Matt said.

"That's too dangerous like this! We can't even see anything!" Emily answered.

A metal sound was heard as something ran against the lockers making them shudder.

"We have an official creature incursion I guess." Becker stated, aiming his EMD at the fog.

"Jess, how far are we from the anomaly?" Matt asked.

"It's only 50 meters. You have to round the corner and then there it is in the middle of the corridor."

"What's with the ventilation system? Can't you use that to draw the fog off?" Danny asked.

"I thought about it, but I am not sure if it would work." Conner replied. "It would probably only work for some seconds and we would have to find a place where to channel it."

"The building must have something like a sealed storage room." Matt thought. "Jess…"

Before he could end the sentence Jess interrupted him:

"One second…" Danny watched impressed by how fast she could type. "Got it! There is one big room below you. I don't know if it can be hermetically sealed."

"I say we risk it!" Becker said, still scanning the invisible floor.

"Okay." Matt said. "We'll find a way to neutralize this stuff later, so Jess, Connor you get the ventilation system working. Becker you go first as soon as we can see some of the floor. Remember we have only a few seconds to get to the anomaly and seal it. Abby, Emily you are with us. Emily will set up the locking device, Abby you have her back. I'll be behind you and try to push over more of these lockers in case we need to escape."

Jess was anxious. She always tried to shut those feelings out, because she was the last person who should feel torn, but this wasn't easy.

"What about the creatures?" Abby asked. Matt shook his head:

"We can't safe them, Abby. Not with all this fog around. We don't even know how dangerous they are and I am not taking any risks." Abby nodded seeing reason.

Danny groaned. "This is so frustrating! I should be out there."

"You won't be until I say so." Lester approached from behind, as always when there was an alert.

"Jessica, what's going on?"

She explained the situation briefly while the team did everything they could to close the anomaly.

There was a yelp.

"Jess, send some medics down here!"

"On their way! What happened?" Her voice was calm but her heart was pumping wildly.

"One of them scratched Connor's arm. " Matt explained. He had been closest to Connor and quickly returned to him when he heard his cry.

"How many of these things are there?" Becker complained while he fired shot after shot.

"The anomaly vanishes!" Emily exclaimed. The beautiful golden light pulsed and vanished.

The fog was pumped out of the hallways quickly.

The creatures were 1,5m long and looked like some sort of huge beetle.

"Abby!" Emily screamed a warning because one of them was heading directly for Abby. She wanted to shoot but her EMD made only a hissing sound. Still the creature staggered and fell to the ground.

"What…" Becker shook his head, but Abby had the answer:

"They can't breathe without the fog. They're suffocating."

"Good!" The soldier replied shortly, but Abby sighed.

"You're heartless!"

"I am? They tried to eat me! Anyway, we better have another look around, make sure everything's dead, then we'll have a look at Connor."

"I'm fine." Connor answered over the coms. "Fine. Just lots of blood…"

* * *

><p>The team was welcomed back.<p>

Connor grinned childishly. "10 stitches!" He told Danny showing his bandaged arm.

Jess wrinkled her nose. "Great…"

"It is." Danny said and punched Connor playfully on the shoulder.

"Ow!" Everyone laughed.

"Didn't I tell you not to tell Quinn?" Becker grinned while Connor rubbed his arm. His face was slightly contorted in pain.

"Becker! Can I talk to you for a second?" Matt asked from the other side of the room.


	20. Chapter 20

_I thought I'd upload this one too tonight, since I already had it on the computer. I just wasn't sure if I should upload it like this, or if I should change it, but now here it is!_

_There will be some Jess and Becker "fluff" at the end, just to warn you, I don't know if you like these scenes or not._

* * *

><p>Matt closed the door to his office and walked over to a tablet that was lying on the table.<p>

"I did a little bit of research." He shoved the gadget over to Becker.

"Robert Calvin."

"He's one of the scientists working in the labs in sector C4."

Becker pursed his lips while he studied the file.

Robert Calvin. 45 years old. Single. He lives in a small flat in Chelsea. He was a brilliant student in Oxford. He dedicated his life to prehistoric plants.

"I thought you might want to know."

The soldier nodded. "I think we should pay him a visit. Do you got anything else?"

"Nothing."

* * *

><p>"Hey there. Wanna get some coffee? I just made some." Danny asked Jess who had entered the break room.<p>

"Yes, thank you."

Danny smiled at her while he poured her a mug.

"Can I ask you a question?" Jess clasped the warm mug in her hand eyeing the steaming liquid.

"Sure."

"Where have you been all these years?"

"Here and there. Honestly I have no idea. You see, I tried to follow my brother. I wanted to bring him back home." Jess looked compassionately at him, even though the thought of Ethan raised goosebumps on her arms.

"Even I should recognize that I lost him, shouldn't I?"

Jess shrugged. "I think you never give up, when it's about a beloved person."

A smile passed Danny's face. "Anyway, I tried to find out what he's up to, but I couldn't. He has got lots of followers in the other world, but I don't know what their plan is."

* * *

><p>"And I am not in trouble?"<p>

"Why should you be?" Becker asked.

Robert Calvin was a short round man at the age of 45 with red hair and thick rimmed glasses. He looked like something between a professor from a comic book and a huge leprechaun.

He worked alone at the end of a huge white table in a corner and as Matt and Becker had approached him his eyes had gone wide and he had started to sweat.

"Because you guys never come down here." His voice was very faint.

"We really just wanted to ask what you're working at currently." Matt told him for the third time now.

Robert stuttered. "Well, I try to find out all the differences between the cretaceous plants and our plants today. I mean, the growth differences, the effects they have on human bodies and how we can replicate them…I mean only if they aren't dangerous obviously, right?" He grinned stupidly and Becker raised his eyebrows at Matt.

"Yeah…" Robert stuttered again. He wiped his forehead.

"For how long are you working on this now?" Becker asked.

"Er, well, it…it takes some time to…to get all the plants and…er, maybe 2 years…"

* * *

><p>"Okay, if you ask me that guy is either a dunderhead, a totally misunderstood scientist or a lunatic. You have the choice." Becker told Matt as they were back on their way to the ops room.<p>

"Yeah, not really what I expected." Matt admitted. "But as far as we know, he could be doing some silly mistake which then will…"

"What? He is working on that for 2 years now without any acknowledged results. Just playing some music for unknown plants. Do you really think he will be a threat or at least any answer to whatever."

"No, I have to admit this seems to be the wrong path."

Becker groaned. "We don't even know what we're looking for!"

"What exactly were her words?"

Becker thought for a second: "She said: Tell him that Robert is right and to give you the key to the chest." Matt frowned.

Suddenly they heard laughter from the break room.

"You really did that? Oh my god!"

"It was hilarious, really!"

Becker leaned against the door frame pursing his lips as he saw Danny flirting with Jess.

They sat next to each other at a table and were chatting lightly.

Matt smirked at Becker as he saw his face.

The Head of Security cleared his throat.

Danny and Jess looked up and as the smile on Jess's face lit up Becker's nerves settled down a bit, but the odd feeling he suddenly had stayed.

"You won't believe what Danny experienced! Just wow!"

"Really?"

Connor entered that moment: "Anything for free around here?" He strolled past Becker and sat down opposite from Jess.

"I'll go clear up the armoury." Becker announced. "I'll see you in the car park?" He looked at Jess who nodded. "Sure."

"What's wrong with him?" Connor frowned.

Matt just chuckled and left as well, leaving the rest of the team staring confused at the door.

* * *

><p>Becker looked at his watch while he waited for Jessica.<p>

The lift made a PING sound and the doors opened. He heard her high heels on the concrete floor and the sound travelled from the walls through the whole car park.

"I'm so sorry I got hold up." She stretched and kissed him on the cheek. "Are you okay?"

Becker shrugged. "Are you coming over tonight?"

He stepped aside and held the door open for her, but Jess didn't get in, she bit her lip and watched him, trying to figure out why he was so cool.

"Can we get going?" He asked.

Jess frowned but got into the car.

After a five minute drive Jess chuckled. Becker hadn't said one word.

"Are you jealous?"

"Jealous?" Becker scoffed. "Of whom?"

"You are!" Jess chuckled. Becker clenched his jaw.

"I'm not jealous!"

* * *

><p>Becker parked the car in front of his house. He made his way upstairs silently and Jess trailed along after him, smiling.<p>

In his flat she stepped in front of him and put her arms around his neck.

"That is so sweet!" She got up on her tiptoes and kissed him.

Becker drew a deep breath, inhaling her sweet scent, returning her kiss.

Their tongues mingled.

The feeling in Becker's stomach made his blood pump through his veins. His hand went to the side of her neck with the other he pressed her closer to his body.

Jess had to catch her breath as Becker rested his forehead against hers.

She smiled, caressing his cheek.

"I've missed you today."

"I thought you were in good company."

Jess bend her head back. "You are so jealous of Danny!"

Becker rolled his eyes and made his way into the kitchen. "I am not jealous!"

Jess followed him.

"Do you want to eat something?" Becker asked with his back toward her. He looked at the take away brochures on his kitchen table.

Jess wrapped her arms around Becker's body and buried her face in his back.

"I love you!"

Becker turned around. "What?"

"It's endearing when you're jealous!" Becker sighed rolling his eyes again.

He kissed the tip of her nose and caressed her cheek with his thumb.

* * *

><p>The couple had Chinese for dinner and right now they were cuddling on the couch watching some TV. Jess sighed satisfied. This was so normal. She felt like everyone else.<p>

She was lying half atop of Becker. Her grip around him tightened.

He kissed her hair.

This was finally a piece of normalcy and both of them realized that they had to cherish it no matter what. How knows how long this would last? If they were lucky, the whole night. Maybe…

A mobile rang. Becker was the first to grab it.

Jess pulled a face: Oh please no!

"What?…Hey Abby…Yes, she is…nope, just watching telly…ok, wait a second. Abby is asking if we want to join them in the pub tonight?" Jess shook her head snuggling deeper into his chest. "I think we'll stay in tonight…oh seriously…" Becker groaned. "Danny asked for you." Jess looked at Becker and grinned, she thought about it for a minute, just to tease him of course.

Becker raised one eyebrow. Jess took a while before she shook her head, stroking over his chest. He couldn't help it, but a small grin travelled over his face.

"No, thanks Abby…sure…all right, see you tomorrow."

"You know what I would really like to do right now?" Jess asked.

Becker looked at her with a crooked smile.

Jess reached out to kiss him while her hand glided up and down his chest.

A chill ran down his spine as Jessica hitched her knee up to wrap her leg around him. Her cold fingers travelled under his shirt teasing his abs.

A moan escaped his throat as she climbed on top of him.

Her breathing deepened.

He became hot as his blood travelled south after Jess straightened up before she started rocking her hips. She felt flushed and started to become wet as she felt Becker's movements beneath her.

He grabbed her hips, but his hands moved upwards under her shirt. He finally managed to pull it over her head and the sight from down there wasn't too bad.

He had thought about switching positions but tonight he felt he should leave it up to her.

His shirt was flying next, then her bra.

Jess bent forward and grazed his neck with her teeth and her lips, slowly travelling up his neck to his earlobe. Becker felt all too distinctly Jess's breasts with their hard nipples pressing into his chest. He searched for her mouth and grabbed her ass, shoving her closer to him.

She clearly felt his erection against her core. She moved down to get rid of his trousers as well as her own. Becker shuddered as she grabbed his member caressing it, teasing.

"Jess…" Becker moaned.

He grabbed her behind again to steer it into the right direction. As he entered her, Jess only knew that she wanted more. She supported her weight on her hands lifted herself until he was almost out of her again before she took him back in, till she saw white dots exploding in front of her eyes.

* * *

><p>They lay still breathing slowly.<p>

"So where have you been when you went through the anomaly? You didn't tell me."

Becker was silent for a while.

"I'm not sure if I should tell you."

He pulled her naked body closer to his.

"Do you fear you could change the future?" She was lying with her back against his chest, Becker took his time to answer.

"I might have already done that…I hope I did…"

"You've been to the future?" Jess felt him nodding his head. "What did you see?"

"You." He whispered.

She turned around to face him. "Me?" Jess looked into his eyes, then turned around again.

"What, no more questions?"

"I'm not sure if I want to know my possible future. What did you mean: You hope you changed the future? How?"

Becker sighed putting his chin onto her shoulder.

"If I would have gone through that anomaly the other day, I might not have returned." He thought he felt her holding her breath as she clutched his hand over her stomach a little tighter.

She turned around again to stare at his handsome face.

"I had to promise you not to go through."

Jess pressed a kiss onto his lips. "Thank you!" she whispered.

* * *

><p>The man looked up to the window where he assumed the soldier and the field coordinator to be.<p>

He made his way over to the black Jeep, sliding a hand over it. There was no evidence in there that showed to whom it belonged. Of course not.

He hardly made mistakes.

A dark grin spread over his face.

He will make a mistake...and he would be there to make the most of it!


	21. Chapter 21

_So, this is just a pretty short chapter without much happening, but I had to cut this. You'll see later why!_

* * *

><p>Connor waited, eyes fixed on the screen in front of him.<p>

His fingers were hovering over the "enter" button of the keyboard. 10, 9, 8…

A digital clock was counting the seconds…7, 6, 5…

"Connor, what are you doing there?" Abby asked, looking over his shoulder.

"…3, 2, 1…" As quickly as he could, he pressed the button. "I got it! Boohya!" He exclaimed and laughed.

"Er, you were saying, Abby?"

"What are you doing?"

"Ebay! I just purchased this old…"

"Ebay?" Lester's furious voice travelled through the room.

"Yes, Sir, there was this…"

"Do I have to remind you that we are a highly functioning research centre with a very important role in the public safety?"

"No, Sir, but…"

"Then why the hell don't you do your work!? This is impossible!" Lester looked like he was about to stamp his foot.

"But…"

"Do your work!" Lester was about to leave the room as Jess entered. "Miss Parker, you should see to get more sleep! You look exhausted!" While he walked away he mumbled something that sounded like: "Terrible Temple!"

The young women just stared wordlessly after him. Abby stared at Connor.

"Abby, really, I need this tool for my work, that's what I was trying to explain. It's so old you can't get it anywhere else!"

"Mh." His girlfriend rolled her eyes.

Jess sat down next to Connor. "You do look tired. What's going on?" Abby asked her friend.

Jess put her elbows onto the tabletop and supported her head with her hands.

"I…" She sighed. "I think I'm becoming paranoid! I have the feeling I am being pursued."

"Pursued?"

Jess nodded. "There is this man I am seeing everywhere in the streets."

"Are you sure?" Connor asked.

Jess looked up. She had a slight headache. "No I am not. But I can't sleep anymore."

"Have you told Becker about this?" Abby put a supporting hand onto her shoulder.

"No, I haven't. He would freak out! I wouldn't be allowed to go anywhere without him!"

She then saw Becker and Matt walk through the ops room. "Besides he is up to something else."

"Yeah, him and Matt. They've been down to the biologists and questioned this bloke called Robert Calvin." Connor told them.

"Why?"

"I have no idea. He's doing researches on prehistoric plants."

The three of them watched Matt and Becker disappear around a corner.

"Something odd is going on, if you ask me!" Connor said.

* * *

><p><em>Thanks for reading!=)<em>


	22. Chapter 22

Two days went by without any incidents which meant that everyone could catch up on their paper work.

Becker walked through the ops room up to Jessica.

"Hey." He placed a bar of chocolate next to her wordlessly.

"Thank you! What's going on?"

Becker looked innocently at her. "Why?"

She shrugged. "So you bring me chocolate just like that?"

Becker suppressed a grin. Sometimes it was really scary how well she already knew him.

"Honestly…no. I have to cancel the movie tonight!"

"What's up?" She knew he didn't have to work, so maybe she would finally get to know what he was up to.

"I just had a very strange call from my sister. She asked me to come over after work, because she has to tell me something important in person." Jessica frowned, but Becker just shrugged. "Don't ask me. The thing is just that it's a three-hour drive, so I'll stay there overnight." He waited for a reaction. Jess nodded: "Sounds reasonable and important, I guess."

"You'll be fine right?"

"Why wouldn't I?"

"You have been a little edgy these days."

So he had noticed! And she had tried so hard to hide her nervousness! "Really? Me?"

The soldier squinted at her. "You would tell me if something was bothering you, right?"

"Of course I would! Becker, I'm fine, don't worry! Go see your sister!"

He was bending forward so Jess could reach his cheek with her lips easily.

Becker struggled to grin. He was reluctant to leave her like this.

There was tension in the air no doubt about that.

* * *

><p>After he had left the ops room he ran into Danny and Emily.<p>

"Becker, do you know where Matt is? We would like to talk to the two of you!" Danny said.

They made their way to Matt's office in the basement where he kept a nice collection of plants.

Emily closed the door behind them.

"What's going on?"

"We think it's time to make up our minds about Ethan." Emily said then threw a look at Danny and corrected herself. "Patrick."

Danny shook his head: "That's okay. He was probably right after all. That man isn't my brother anymore."

There was an uneasy silence in the room.

"What about him?" Matt finally asked.

"Well, we should think about what will happen if he appears again."

Becker scoffed. He knew what he would do!

"We are sure that he will turn up eventually, because he is up to something." Danny went on. "I have been tracking him for quite some time. He was always with a group of people. Back in the Cretaceous they build themselves kind of a village where they live. Ethan seemed to be in authority there. They stole regularly from this time period and tried to build something, but don't ask me what. I never figured that out."

"When I was with him he always talked about the great future visions he had. He was sure that he had a special function, but he never said what exactly. When I think about it now he seemed kind of mad or obsessed with something."

Becker rolled his eyes and mumbled something non-understandable.

Matt's eyes were alerted. "What about the anomalies? I mean they had to get back and fro on a regular basis, but an anomaly doesn't show up every day."

Danny shrugged. "I am not sure how he did it, but somehow there was always one there when they needed one."

Becker and Matt shared a concerned look.

"On the other hand, wouldn't we have noticed if there was an anomaly showing up on a regular basis?" Emily asked.

No one had an answer to that.

* * *

><p>As Matt and Becker were alone Matt asked his Head of Security:<p>

"And?"

"And what?"

"What do you think about this future vision stuff?"

"You don't put that in any context with my trip, do you?"

Matt shrugged. "Why not?"

"Matt, come on! That is a little far-fetched, don't you think?"

"In this world there's hardly a thing that would still surprise me!"

Becker watched him. "Do you know anything I should know?"

Matt turned to his plants. "What do you mean?"

"From your time?"

"Nope." Matt said and watered some plants. Becker squinted at him again.

He looked at his watch. "Well, I have to go, gotta drive over to my sister. I'll see you tomorrow!"

The door closed and Matt put the watering can down sighing.

* * *

><p>The door opened shortly after Becker had rang the doorbell.<p>

"Uncle Hilary!" An eight year old girl cried. His sister already had two kids, though she was younger than him. "Hey Florence! You okay?" She nodded clinging onto his leg. "Where's your mum?"

"Hilary?" His sister opened the door. Becker smiled at her, but his smile faded as she asked him very confused: "What are you doing here?"

Becker stared at her.

"Come on in!" She waved a hand and he entered the small house. There were lots of family pictures on the walls in the hallway. Another child's laugh was heard and a four year old boy ran towards them. He had his teddy in his mouth and grabbed hold of the other one of Becker's legs. "Hey Timmy! Man you've grown, mate!" Then he turned to his sister who was still staring at him, her arms crossed over her chest. "But you called me!"

His sister frowned. "No!"

"You wanted to talk to me about something important!"

She stared at him dead seriously. "Nick!?" She called out to her husband. "Did you call my brother?"

Nick stepped into the hall. "Hilary, hi! Me? No I didn't. When? We've been at school the whole afternoon!"

"I was a pixi in Peter Pan, uncle Hil! See?" Flor told excitedly and indeed her face was full of glittering make up.

Becker shook his head. "It was you! I swear!"

"Can't be!"

"Are you sure?"

His sister clicked her tongue. "Hilary, I am not retarded!"

He shook his head and then gasped. They watched him frantically pulling out his mobile phone.

"Jess! Are you okay?…You sure? Nothing's wrong?…No, no, everything is fine, don't worry!…I…no, it's just…my sister said she didn't call me…I don't know…yeah…okay…I'll see you tomorrow.…bye!"

He sighed relieved. But who had called him?

* * *

><p><em>Thanks for reading!<em>


	23. Chapter 23

The next morning Becker headed home pretty early.

He had found no sleep and had been going over the alleged phone call over and over again. He couldn't see any reason. It was almost absurd! Why would someone imitate his sister?

The streets were empty so he made quick progress. In the City of London it was different. This city never slept!

The streets were as busy as always.

He turned round the corner and parked the car in his usual spot. The soldier in him hated to be predictable, but some things were just habitual.

Rather slowly did he make his way over to the big grey building. The sun was just about to rise and the neighbourhood seemed to be very peaceful.

He wanted to have a quick shower a nice breakfast and would drive over to the ARC afterwards. While he slipped his key into the lock he checked his watch. Jess would be up in about half an hour.

He turned the key and opened the door.

For two seconds he just stood there and stared at the chaos in front of him.

All his stuff was scattered on the floor. It looked as if a bomb had been dropped.

Almost immediately did the soldier grab the small EMD he had on his waistband.

Slowly and as quiet as possible did he make his way through the flat. He checked every room to make sure no one was there and of course there wasn't. Whoever had broken in was already gone again.

Glasses, papers, books, DVD's, plates, kitchen utensils and food. Every inch of the kitchen floor was covered up.

Becker went to his secret safe to make sure it was still locked. It was, and nothing was lost.

His secret armoury. Nothing gone.

He walked around the flat and checked every place he could think of, but nothing seemed to be missing. He shook his head.

He should have known that someone had wanted to get him out of the house. But nothing seemed to be missing, so what had they been looking for?

His eyes swept the room again and again. He puffed the air out of his cheeks. Where to start cleaning up?

Becker walked over to his kitchen counter where one of his knives was plunged into. He was just about to pull it out as his body froze. He noticed a picture that had been pinned down with it.

It was a picture of him and Jess leaving his car.

He swallowed staring at the picture.

His heartbeat raced a mile a minute while his eyes grew wider and wider. The picture ripped in two as he pulled it out from under the knife.

This had just been about two days ago, he realized.

The pieces sailed through the air and onto the ground as Becker let go of them in order to pull out his mobile.

"Come on! Jess, pick up!" He growled as the beeping of the phone line continued.

With the phone in hand he ran downstairs and over to his car to drive over to her.

Beep Beep Beep.

No one picked up.

He growled, but only just hung up as the mailbox answered.

"Shit!"

* * *

><p>In front of her house he cut another car off and sprinted over to the building as fast as he could.<p>

Someone screamed swear words at him, but Becker didn't care.

Please no!

He was about to yell her name as he had almost reached her door, but then held himself back. His training forbade him to make any loud noises.

With his spare key he quickly opened the door. His EMD was ready to shoot.

Everything was quiet and nothing seemed to be out of place. His eyes were awake and his body tensed.

No, no, no!

A wooden bole screeched under his foot as he slowly sneeked down the hall way. The soldier struggled to keep his breathing as quiet as possible.

Stay calm!

He pushed every door open to examine the room behind it, but every room was empty and looked unused.

"Jess!?" He knew no one was there, but he had to try. This could not be happening!

"Jess!?" He yelled louder this time. Her name tasted sour on his tongue. I am so gonna kill him!

There was only one person he had in mind who would do this!

As if in slow motion his hand with the EMD fell to his side.

For what felt like the million's time this day he pulled out his mobile again.

"Matt! I think he has Jess!"


	24. Chapter 24

They had searched everywhere!

Matt had suggested that she might have already gone to work, but that hadn't been the case.

Abby and Connor had no idea where she was and neither had Danny. Emily of course had been with Matt.

Lester had been shocked. "Are you sure she is missing?"

Becker had just taken a deep breath in order to keep calm.

They had called her relatives, her friends, every person in her address book, but nothing.

The whole facility was in havoc suddenly, which seemed to be too much for just one person missing, but then again Jess coordinated everything.

* * *

><p>Abby and Connor had secretly gathered the whole team together in the armoury.<p>

Everyone watched them curiously.

"Jess had the feeling of being pursued." Abby explained. "I didn't want to tell this up there with everyone around." Becker couldn't believe his ears.

"She, what?"

"She said there had been this man everywhere in the streets." Connor added.

"Why the hell didn't she tell me!?" He almost screamed.

"Because she didn't want you to freak out!" Abby explained.

"Didn't want me to freak out? Now this is better, is it? I can't believe it!" Anger boiled up in him. He turned around to hit a locker.

"Becker!" Matt snapped. "We need to keep calm now!" His voice was very quiet. "Did she tell anything else, that could help us identify that man?"

"Oh, I know exactly…"

"Shush!" Emily interrupted Becker who then lowered his voice.

"I know exactly who that was! It was Ethan, who else?"

"Becker we have no proof!" Danny objected.

"You just want to defend your brother!" Becker stepped menacingly in front of him.

"No, I don't! That's a fact!"

"He's right mate! Could have been anyone to all we know!" Connor said and also gained a killing glance.

"Never the less he must have watched her or you or maybe even every one of us for quite some time." Emily said. "And I have to say that I tend to think it was Ethan. He has the right motive."

"Has he?" Matt asked.

"Look, there's still some open business between Becker and him and if he steals from our time as Danny said, he might need something."

"But this is all speculation." Abby said.

"Of course it is! What else can we do at the moment? We have to wait until he contacts us!"

Becker growled. "This is a nightmare!"

A red light flashed through the room and the anomaly alarm rang.

"Oh yes, and it's getting worse…" Connor agreed.

* * *

><p>The anomaly was in Hyde Park which was not that bad because the area probably soothed the huge triceratops that was grazing in front of the anomaly. Who knew what a honking car and screaming people would have caused it to do?<p>

The ARC team had managed to close the park and now they were standing in a safe distance to the animal, discussing what to do next.

"Look at it! It's so beautiful!" Abby said amazed.

Becker snorted. "If it weren't dangerous I would gladly tell you to take it home with you! For god's sake!" Emily stood next to him and punched him.

He shot her a killing glance at first, but Emily firmly stared at him.

"Sorry, Abby. I didn't mean it."She looked at Connor who just shrugged.

"Deal with it later! For now, we try to chase it back through the anomaly!" Matt commanded. "Tory, there are no civilians around, aren't there?" Becker flinched as he heard Jess's cover through his ear piece, reminding him that she was somewhere out there, maybe hurt, scared, fighting or whatever. He was anxious.

"No one around Matt."

"Good. So, this is what we'll do!" He divided everyone into groups, one on each side of the dinosaur. Everyone had a bright signal flare with which they hoped to be able to chase it into the right direction, as well as with the EMD's that were set on the lowest set.

"Anything unclear?" The team members shook their heads. "Becker!"

"Huh?"

"Everything clear?"

"Ja, sure!" He snapped at Matt who watched him carefully, before he slowly answered.

"Okay, I guess then we are all set to go. On your posts guys and wait for my signal." While everyone walked away he murmured to Becker:

"You are not with us, mate!"

"I am. Are you telling me I don't know how to do my job!?"

"Easy, I was just stating that you are not concentrating, maybe you should rather…"

"What? Stay back? Bloody hell!" Becker stormed off. Matt didn't like this at all. He had a bad feeling with Becker acting like this.

* * *

><p>"Okay guys, listen up in three, two, one…" Matt ignited his signal flare and started screaming. The soldier next to him shot the triceratops. It screamed and started running into the intended direction.<p>

The ground was shaking as if there was an earthquake hitting the town.

The soldier kept shooting.

Connor ignited his signal flare too as it started to come for him and Abby. Abby shot and the animal turned.

"Close in! Come on, quick! Becker!" Matt shouted although everyone heard him easily over the coms.

There was something wrong with Becker and his soldiers. They were too slow.

"Shoot! Don't let it go past you, come on!"

They dinosaur roared and everyone ran, trying desperately to steer it around.

Becker missed a shot! He missed! That was practically impossible.

One of his soldiers lit his signal flare, but the dinosaur wasn't able to see it.

"Okay Danny your go! Quick!" Matt said.

"Danny?" Connor asked confused.

A minute later a black SUV pulled up next to the wild dinosaur. There was white light from an EMD emerging that caused the animal to turn in the last minute.

It was on course again and headed for the anomaly.

People stopped and stared.

"Come on run through!" Matt whispered to himself.

There was relief as the dinosaur disappeared into the bright light.

A soldier closed the anomaly.

* * *

><p>"Danny! Nice back up, who allowed you to go out in the field?" Connor teased and gave the former police offer a high five.<p>

"Ah, can't remember who that was."

"You are not allowed in the field!" Becker yelled joining them.

"But if he hadn't…"

"I don't care, Temple! It's policy! He's not allowed here!"

"Becker…" Emily tried calmly.

"This is…"

Suddenly Matt's voice drowned the others out: "If it hadn't been for him we had a huge problem now, no thanks to you Captain Becker!"

Becker glared at Matt. He knew he had made a mistake. He hadn't been concentrating and he had been lucky that no one got hurt. The consequences would have been even worse for him.

"Everyone pack up and then we'll meet back at the ARC."

* * *

><p>Becker was in the locker room changing. Matt joined him.<p>

"Captain, a word if you please."

"Matt listen…"

"Becker I know you are sorry and I know this is a rough time, but get a grip, will you? I don't want to suspend you!"

Becker straightened up and nodded firmly. "It will never happen again!"

Matt stared at him a little longer. "I wouldn't have expected anything else."

Becker sat down on a wooden bench in front of his locker.

"Any news?"

"Connor tries to locate her mobile."

"We'll find her. Now go home!"

Becker shook his head. "I can't. I'll stay."

"Okay, but get some sleep! That's an order!"

The soldier nodded. Before Matt could go out of the door Becker asked: "Matt, what did you tell Lester?"

"About?"

"The incident?"

"What incident?"

* * *

><p><em>Thanks for reading! I don't know how much time it'll take me to upload the next chapter, because it's uni again next week...=P <em>

_so you might need a little patience, but I am on it!_


	25. Chapter 25

_Hey. It took me a little longer to post this, but I can tell you that the next chapter is as good as done.=)_

_So I really wanted to get this one finished so I might have rushed through it a little too quickly. _

_I still hope it is any good._

* * *

><p>"Hey. Any news?" Becker asked Connor who watched the monitors of the ADD.<p>

"Not since the last time you asked, which was like…" He looked at his watch and pursed his lips. "…mh, yeah, if we bend the rules half an hour ago."

The soldier thought about smacking Connor's head or making an inappropriate remark, but he felt too tired to do so. So, he just let the answer pass unremarked. Jessica was missing now for almost three days and no one had received any note on her whereabouts. Connor had tried everything to track her down, but the trail he first had turned out to be a dead end.

The waiting part was the most horrible thing Becker could think of, because for him time seemed to stand still. He would look at the watch every five minutes wondering why it hadn't been more time that had passed.

He turned away from Connor when he noticed that Abby was heading for him. Every time someone wanted something from him there was this little thing nibbling on his nerves ends and he couldn't help hoping that the hijacker had maybe gotten in touch or something.

But Abby just held out some sheets of paper to him.

"I need you to sign this!" Becker's face fell.

"What is it?" He asked disappointed.

"Protection fences for the animals in the menagerie." Becker looked at her crooking his eyebrows and making Abby roll her eyes. "Protection fences for the people who work in the menagerie?" She suggested annoyed. "Come on just sign it!"

Becker set his signature at the end of the page.

"When was the last time you have slept?"

"Er…"

"Becker, it doesn't help if you collapse."

"I won't, now stop getting on my nerves!" He snarled almost throwing the papers back at her.

The blond woman sighed before she turned around.

Abby started thinking to herself of just how much Jess had managed to change their super-impeccable-always on guard- Head of Security. He probably had never believed himself that this could have ever happened to him, but eventually it had.  
>It made him more human, Abby noticed.<p>

She had always thought of Becker as tough, which he was, but right now she figured that after all he wasn't invulnerable.

Finally she made her way over to Lester's office to get his signature as well.

Even Lester was acting strange and confused sometimes. It was no secret anymore that Jessica was his favourite, so his behaviour was hardly a surprise.

"James, I need you to sign something."

"Miss Maitland, yes yes, come in." He stretched out his hand for the sheets that Abby handed over to him. While he looked at the papers and started signing them he asked:

"So, any news?"

"No, Sir."

He just acknowledged her answer with a headshake and put down the last signatures.

James Lester sared at the papers and after some minutes Abby wondered if he had suddenly forgotten about her for he just read through something.  
>She looked at him suppressing a grin.<p>

Suddenly Lester became aware of her presence again:

"Anything else?"

"The request, Sir…"

"Yes, sure!" He handed her the sheets back. "Now, go back to work!"

Abby left the office with a shake of her head.

* * *

><p>Emily caught her in the hallway.<p>

"Abby, there are some letters for you."

"Are you playing postman now?" Abby laughed.

"I had nothing else to do."

"Is this all?" Abby asked looking through the letters. Emily checked the letters and parcels in her hands again. "Yes, that's…a parcel for Becker!" She breathed.

Both of them shared a look before they walked to his office together.

Emily didn't bother knocking but opened the door immediately.

Becker stood up. His eyes lit up as they approached him like this.

"What? What happened?"

Emily put the small parcel down in front of him. He stared at it.

His teeth started to nibble nervously at his bottom lip. The soldier looked at the women in front of him and down again at the table top.

"Open it!" Abby urged.

Becker grabbed it and just wanted to rip it open as Emily interjected:

"Wait! What if it is a trap? Some kind of letter bomb or something?"

"Emily, they check the post."Becker said slowly, but never the less he stopped. He threw another glance at his colleagues before he quickly just ripped it open.

Emily and Abby held their breaths.

Nothing happened.

There was a small box inside. Becker's hands were slightly shaking and he already imagined the worst things that could be in there.

The top came finally lose and inside was a mobile.

The three people stared at it. They just stared at it as if they had never seen one before.

"Is there something on it?" Abby asked Becker who searched it and then shook his head.

"Nope, there's nothing on there."

"So, now we wait?" Emily suggested. Becker drew a deep frustrated breath.

"Looks like it." His lips twitched.

Suddenly his fist connected loudly with the table making Emily jerk. "How I hate this!" His hands rummaged over his face and through his hair. He drew deep breaths.

"Sorry."

"It's okay."

* * *

><p>"For how long had he been staring at that mobile now?"<p>

"Er, I think since yesterday as he received it." Connor replied to Matt. "He had me check it for technical flaws and spyware."

"Found anything?"

"Course not. But I do felt like James Bond on a secret mission."

Matt rolled his eyes without replying to Connor and his boyish grin. Then he turned to walk into the other direction. Connor started after him:

"Matt I…"

Suddenly a mobile rang.

"I suppose that's neither yours nor mine." Connor said.

The two men shared a look before they turned to walk back to Becker's office. They watched how he rose from his chair and watched the mobile in his hands.

He opened his door and approached Matt and Connor who stared at him curiously.

"It's a photo of a street sign in Fulham." He showed them the picture.

"So, Fulham it is!" Connor said.

"Let's go!" Becker nodded marching towards the exit.

"Hey, do you think that's wise!?" Matt yelled after him and shot a glance at Connor who just shrugged and then followed Becker.

* * *

><p>Thanks to the GPS they arrived in the right place in no time at all.<br>Becker parked the black SUV in the middle of the street and jumped immediately out to look around.

"So, what now?" Connor asked looking around as well.

"There has to be something around here!" Becker said running all over the place.

"We really should have told someone where we're going!"

"Matt, really why did you come if you are just whining?"

"Because someone has to be the sane one around!"

The mobile rang and interrupted there fight. Becker froze in order to pull it out of his pocket.

"And that would be the next clue." Connor stated.

"What is it?" Matt asked approaching Becker who became pale. He stared at a picture of Jess tied to a chair in a dark small room.

He couldn't see her face properly, but his guts tightened.

"We have to get her out of there!"

"Mate, we don't even know where that is!" Matt answered quietly looking over Becker's shoulder.

Becker felt like throwing the phone onto the ground.

Then it rang again.

His eyes grew wide. "It's him…" His brain was so on overload that he hesitated before he picked up the call with the suppressed phone number. Matt and Connor were just as edgy as he was. The cold rainy weather didn't seem to be that cold and refreshing anymore.

"What the hell did you do to her?" Becker yelled into the phone.

"Hello Captain Becker!" Ethan's voice said.

"So it is you!"

* * *

><p><em>Thanks for reading!=)<em>


	26. Chapter 26

_Next one! I hope you like it as much as I do!_

_Enjoy!_

* * *

><p>"Patrick, come on!" Danny yelled.<p>

Matt had a megaphone in his hands. "Ethan, the building is surrounded. Let Jess go and no one will be harmed!"

"He won't do it!" Abby stated again.

"What if he opens an anomaly and escapes?" Becker asked. He was tensed and could hardly hold it together. Officially he was not on duty, but of course he would never stay away.

Lester just kept his fingers crossed that there wouldn't be another faux-pas. As soon as he had heard what had happened he had made it very clear that he didn't want to have Captain Becker there, also because of the paperwork he had to go through if something went wrong.  
>He insisted to be on the coms with the team so he would be in the picture and up to date the whole time.<p>

"Can he do that?" Abby asked Connor referring to Becker's question.

"Well, technically…maybe…that is, if he has the know-how and enough power…"

"Ethan!" Matt shouted again. "Let her go!"

It was already about to get dark and soon they wouldn't be able to see anything anymore.

It was hours ago as they had received the first hint of Jess' whereabouts. Ethan had denied giving Becker the exact coordinates but he had narrowed it down to some places. Becker had become more and more furious because Ethan had obviously been enjoying the game. Connor was the one who had been able to trace the phone call back. Not that Ethan hadn't assumed that, quite the opposite, he had counted on it.

The team had come as planned and immediately sealed the parking lot off that was in front of the small house that might have been a store some years ago. They had kept their distance because Ethan had made sure of that.

* * *

><p>"Aw, d'you hear that? Your friends do care about you!" Ethan spat. Jess was tied to a chair and trembled. Her eyeliner was smudged, her hair dishevelled, and her clothes partially torn. She was tired and exhausted.<p>

"What do you want from me?" Her voice cracked slightly, however she took a deep breath. "They will get you anyway!" She tried to sound as harsh as she could.

"Ah ah ah, I wouldn't be so sure about it!"

"We will and then we'll lock you up where you belong!"

"You are either brave or stupid." Ethan pressed a loaded gun against her head. "But you are lucky that I need your boyfriend!" He ripped the aid band off that had tied her to the chair and yanked her up, the weapon always pointed at her head.

Jess bit down on her lip in order not to scream at the sudden pain rising on her arms. The cold thread against her head made her knees go weak and she started to sweat. Ethan yanked and pushed her forward towards the door of the small cabin. He opened the door just wide enough for the ARC team to see her and the gun next to her head.

Becker gasped. No!

He balled his hands into fists and clenched his teeth. Jess felt weak and if Ethan wouldn't have held her up she would have fallen down, for sure.

"Okay, I will let her go, if you give me Captain Becker instead!" The hijacker yelled.

Hot tears sprang to Jess's eyes as she slowly shook her head with her eyes fixed on Becker, but Ethan shook her violently so she would stop it.

"You can have her dead or alive, depending on the decision of Captain Becker!"

"I'll do it!" Becker's voice was loud and steady, his eyes always on Jess.

"No!" Everyone whispered.

"Becker!" Matt tried to negotiate, but Becker shook his head.

"Rather me than her! Besides we can find out what he is up to. Think about it. He wants me for a reason!" He hissed.

"What if it's just about revenge?" Emily objected.

"He would have killed her already if it was that! No, there's something else, what with all the stuff he stole!"

"Come slowly closer and show me that you are unarmed!" Ethan yelled.

Becker took off his jacket.

"Becker, really, this isn't clever!" Danny said.

"There is no other way! I have to get her out of there and this is my chance!"

"Captain, you will not hand you over!" Lester ordered over coms.

"Sorry." Becker answered and started walking towards the cabin after he put a small EMD, he shouldn't even have what with the 'not on duty' state, onto the floor.

He slowly approached the former store, although his team colleagues and friends tried to hold him back.

"No! Come back here!"

"What about your knife?" Ethan asked loudly.

Becker froze and his face showed his utter surprise for merely a few seconds.

Angrily he took his knife out of his boot and threw it onto the floor.

His team shared some concerned looks. Everyone one of them had a bad feeling, for Ethan knew things he shouldn't know at all.

Becker went on.

"Is that all?" Ethan asked.

"That's all!"

"What about your black box?"

"Don't have it on me!"

Ethan glared at him for some endless seconds. "Mobile?"

Becker shook his head and shrugged but he kept walking slowly. His eyes were still fixed on Jess who tried to stop him with her eyes, her body language, everything she had. But as desperately as she tried she knew he would never listen to her.

"No tricks or she dies!" Jess swallowed and suppressed a wine. Her body had started tremble and she didn't know how to stop it.

"How do I know you'll let her go unharmed?"

"You simply have to trust me."

Becker stopped walking. "Trust you?"

"Oh oh…" Connor whispered, but Abby nudged him to keep quiet.

"You do what I tell you: she lives, if you don't: she dies. No matter where you are."

Becker's features were deadly serious. He looked into Jess' eyes that had turned red because of the tears then he gave a curt nod, despite her look, or probably rather because of her look. He wanted to have her out of Ethan's hands as soon as possible, not matter what.

By now the soldier had reached the entrance, so Ethan yanked Jess out of Becker's way, although she tried to stay on the threshold in order to keep him outside.

"It's okay Jess!" He said quietly. He wanted to touch her but didn't dare to.

As Becker was inside Ethan quickly shoved the girl out of the door that fell shut behind her with a loud bang.

She stumbled and fell to the ground.

"Becker!" She tried to stand up and turn around as fast as she could, but her knee screamed in pain and red blood was immediately oozing out of it. A cry of pain escaped her throat and tears her eyes. The pebbles in the wounds burned like hell.

Abby immediately ran up to her. "Jess, come on!" She hoisted her up. Connor was suddenly there on Jess' other side taking her other arm. She had no power to resist even though she wanted to. She wanted to break through the door and keep Becker close to her.

Together Abby and Connor brought her to the restricted area.

"He'll be fine!" Abby tried to soothe her.

* * *

><p>Ethan pushed Captain Becker into a windowless room next door.<p>

"What the hell do you want?"

"Oh, I'd have to kill you if I told you!" He joked.

"You can kill me right away then, because I won't cooperate without knowing the purpose!"

Ethan shrugged keeping the gun pointed at him.

"Jessica was such a pretty girl!"

"I rip you apart if you harm her!" The soldier growled menacingly and straightened up in front of Ethan.

"Then I recommend you do what I tell you to!" He replied in the same ponderous tone of voice.

Becker stared at him clenching and unclenching his fists. His teeth already hurt from his tightened jaw muscles.

Ethan pulled a small black gadget out of his pocket. It was an I-Phone on which he pressed a few buttons and then showed it to Becker.

He sharply sucked in the air as he watched Abby and Connor helping Jess to get to the medical team.

Cross hairs were displayed on her head.

"I am watching her, you see."

"Bastard!" Becker snarled.

Ethan just grinned. "Keep that in mind!"

"What the hell do you need me for anyway?"

"Well, I hear you have been to the future."

Becker was stunned. "What the…Bloody hell! You can't know that!"

"Oh, that was a secret? Well, oops!"

"No one knows!"

"Yes, I do!"

"How?"

"Well, the staff knows everything."

There was Matt's voice again. "Ethan, you can't escape! Let Captain Becker go and give up!"

"Like hell!" He chuckled creepily.

"So, how do you plan on getting us out of here?" Becker crossed his arms over his chest feeling more confident.

Ethan grinned again. He pulled out another small gadget and pressed some buttons. The soldier raised his eyebrows sceptically at the I-Pod thingy.

Something pushed against his memory, but he couldn't grab what it was.

Suddenly red lasers came out of the device and formed the shape of a ball.

A strange sound escaped his throat.

"You recognize this?"

The lights grew until they had the full size of an anomaly.

"You have been there?" Becker couldn't grasp a clear though although he had the feeling that this shouldn't surprise him this much.

"You'd be surprised." Ethan grinned.

"You have been to the future!" Becker whispered, stating the obvious.

"Now go!" Ethan commanded. "I don't have to remind you about the gun pointed at Miss Parker's head, do I?"

* * *

><p>"Matt, I have an awkward feeling!" Jess said watching the building with a blanket around her shoulders.<p>

"Me too!" Abby agreed. "We haven't heard anything for ten minutes now and he couldn't have come out!"

"What does he want with Becker?" Emily asked.

Matt drew a deep breath. "Okay we're going in!"

"Do you think that's wise?" Connor asked. Everyone looked at Danny to see what he thought about this. After a while he nodded.  
>"There's hardly anything else we can do."<p>

"Ethan! I give you ten seconds to respond before we come in!" Matt said into the megaphone.

He looked at everyone, counting silently, then he nodded to the armed soldiers around them.

In no time had they crashed through the door.

But the rooms were empty.

* * *

><p><em>Thanks so much for reading!=)<em>


	27. Chapter 27

_Here we go again=) _

_I think I am sure now of where this story is leading! Didn't really have a plan till now^^_

_Enjoy!_

* * *

><p>Becker looked around and noticed that they were in the same place where he had been earlier in the future. But the house looked somehow neglected and so did the garden. The grass could need a cut, leaves were strewn all over the place and dead flowers lay in all the flower beds.<p>

The sky was covered in heavy looking grey clouds.

He wondered what time they were in. The wind whooshed through the dead leaves.

It was twilight and eerily quiet.

"Come on forward!" Ethan pushed him towards the house.

Unwillingly Becker stumbled some steps forward.

"In what time are we?" He stopped regaining his balance.

"In the right time. Now get in the house." Ethan snarled and pushed a weapon into Becker's back.

"What do you want?" Everything inside the soldier was reluctant to carry out Ethan's commands. It went against everything he had been trained on.

"You'll find out soon enough, now move!" Ethan's voice became louder and more urgent with every word. He seemed to become nervous.

"You won't kill me, you need me!" He didn't want to give in, especially now that he sensed Ethan's fear for…what? Becker couldn't sense any obvious thread around them.

"Oh, clever now, aren't we? But I don't think you need both of yours arms…and there's always lovely Jessica, I suppose I don't need her anymore now…"

"Oh, you can't keep watch on her! You can't communicate through time!"

"I can't?" Ethan sneered.

Becker hesitated. "No…"

"You wanna bet?" Ethan asked, but Becker didn't reply. Ethan added in a harsh tone. "Now move, if you don't want to risk anything."

Becker gnawed his teeth tensing his muscles. Slowly they walked up to the patio.

"You are really lucky. I wouldn't mind having a girlfriend like Jess myself."

"Shut up!" Becker warned quietly through his teeth.

"I would love to run my fingers through her soft hair again and over her smooth skin."

"Shut up!" His fingernails cut into the soft flesh of his hands. He shuddered at the thought of this lunatic touching his girlfriend.

"I wondered what it felt like to kiss her lips…"

"Shut up!" Becker turned on his heel and yelled as menacingly as he could at the top of his voice.

* * *

><p>"Do you want to tell me that my Head of Security disappeared through an anomaly again?" Lester asked furiously and massaged his temples.<p>

"Yes Sir." The soldier in front of him reported. Lester breathed heavily. Not again!

"Where is the team?"

"Checking on Miss Parker, Sir."

"She is okay, isn't she?" Lester looked up at the man in black.

"She looked just fine, Sir, taking the trouble into account of course."

"I want to see Danny Quinn and Matt Anderson ASAP!" James Lester ordered.

"Yes Sir." The soldier saluted and after he had left Lester allowed himself to have a sip of Scotch. The liquid burned his throat slightly, but it soothed his nerves.

Captain Becker could at least be expected to handle Ethan better than Jessica, he thought. So that was one relief, even though it was a small one. Lester drained the glass and put it back onto the small glass table.

Danny and Matt entered the office.

"James. " Danny greeted.

"Do you have any idea what your brother might be up to?" Lester jumped right into the middle of it.

"No, I am afraid I have no idea!"

"This is all very vexing! Any ideas what to do next?" He leaned against his desk.

"Well, there is hardly anything we can do." Matt replied. "But Connor is already on it, and I am not sure how long we can keep Jess from joining him."

"That is exactly the reason why they advice you not to bond with your colleagues!" Lester said rather to himself than to anyone in particular.

Danny just suppressed a smile.

* * *

><p>The house was dusty and the air smelled stale and stuffy. Becker listened but didn't hear any noise. It was deadly quiet inside just as it was outside. He hardly dared to breathe himself.<p>

It was too quiet and the prevailing darkness made the atmosphere even gloomier. The curtains were drawn in front of every window.

Was this before or after Jess had been here?

This made no sense at all!

They stood in the hallway but every door to the other rooms was open so they could look into every room around them without actually stepping into it.

Becker frowned at the curtain in the living room that suddenly started to glow because the sun had come out.

Ethan walked to a window to peek outside from behind the curtain.

"The weather tends to change quickly these days."

"Expecting someone?" Becker's voice seemed to boom through the quiet house.

Ethan jerked slightly. "Of course not!" He snarled quietly pulling the curtains back roughly.

The sun rays vanished and the room became dark again. Thunder was vibrating through the air.

Ethan walked back over to Becker. "Now Captain where is it?"

"Is what?"

"The key!"

"The key?"

* * *

><p>Jess wanted nothing more than to get out of the medical bay as soon as possible.<p>

She hated to be examined and especially over the last time it had happened far too often.

She was sitting on a cot dangling her legs, waiting for the doc to let her go. Her eyes were fixed on her bare feet that were still dirty. They had given her one of these hideous hospital gowns, but she hadn't yet managed to shower.

However, her thoughts were with Becker. She just hoped that he was okay.

The door opened but it was only Emily who brought her new clothes.

"Here you go!"

"Thank you!" Jess took them gratefully. She longed for a hot shower and fresh clothes.

"You're welcome." Emily sat down next to her. "How are you feeling?"

Jess sniffed. "Okay, I guess." Her eyes stayed at the floor.

Emily rubbed her back. "What did he do to you?"

Jess stayed quiet for a minute or so. "You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to."

"No, it's fine. He didn't do anything…well particularly hurting me or something…he was just so…creepy." She shuddered. "I just didn't want him to touch me." Everything inside Jess tightened and a feeling of uneasiness and disgust lingered over her. "He freaks me out!" She shook herself to get rid of the awkward feeling.

"Did he mention anything about what he was up to?" Emily asked carefully.

Jess shook her head. "He was just very boastful. But he knew he needed Becker for whatever." She cradled her head in her hands.

Emily rubbed over her back again to comfort her. "He'll be fine."

"I am scared."

"I know…" Emily sighed. "Me too." She added after a while.

Jess looked at her and faintest ghost of a smile tugged at her lips.

"Emily, can I stay with you tonight? Do you think Matt will mind? I don't want to be alone."

"Of course he won't mind! That goes without saying!"

"Thank you!"

* * *

><p>Becker's mind worked on high speed. He remembered everything, although his face didn't give anything away.<p>

_She had pulled a second base out of a drawer in the bedroom. Then __Jessica had held a key in front of his face:__"You have to go back and give this to Matt. It is very important!"_

"Don't play dumb Becker. You have been here before and you know pretty damn well where it is hidden!"

In front of his inner eyes he watched Matt stuff it into a pocket of his jeans.

"I have no idea what you are talking about!" Becker said seriously.

Ethan cocked his gun and pointed it at the soldier's head. "Are you sure?"

Becker squinted at his opposite. He was calm on the outside but his heart beat a mile a minute. He knew he wasn't allowed to make any mistakes now.

Time! He needed time!

"What do you want it for?"

"I might tell you if you hand it over without trouble."

Suddenly they heard a kind of crackling sound.

Ethan turned his head towards the door and Becker used the moment to kick the gun out of his hand. He had meant to catch it but the blow had had more power than he had intended so it soared in a high arch through the air into the opposite direction.

The crackling sounds were in front of the door now and it almost sounded as if someone was mocking them. The only way out Becker saw was the escape upstairs. He bolted through the closest door and closed it behind him. He leaned against it briefly closing his eyes.

As he opened them again he noticed that he was in the main bedroom.

What now Hilary?

He walked over to the cupboard in order to pull out the drawers. Empty. There was nothing at all in any of them.

He didn't even know what he was looking for.

They were all empty and nothing in this room hinted that someone had ever lived here.

Jess was long gone.

"Becker, I believe you didn't think this through. You know what will happen if you pull of our deal, right?" Ethan's low voice was right outside the door.

"We have no deal!" Becker growled.

"You can convince yourself and your friends about it at your girlfriend's funeral if you like."

Becker closed his eyes again trying to hold his bearings. "You're bluffing!"

"You really want to risk it?"

Becker imagined himself ripping Ethan's head off.

There was the crackling again, right outside the bedroom window.

"Oh and there is no way out anyway. I think you have already noticed that the house is surrounded."

* * *

><p>Jess was staring at the lit skyline of London.<p>

The city was as beautiful as ever, by night as well as in broad daylight. It looked so calm.

She clutched a glass of water in her hands.

There were footsteps behind her. Just as she turned around Matt switched a light on over the stove.

"Hey. Can't sleep?" His quiet voice carried over to her. Jess shook her head and turned back to the view.

"Not really."

Matt stepped next to her. "He'll be fine."

She nodded. "I am sure he will." She really believed that he would be fine. He was a fighter. She sighed. "Matt, what the hell is this all about?"

"I don't know…but I am sure it has something to do with the future."

"It's always about the future! We never get to live in the moment!" She whined.

"No, not really, do we?"

"It would be only half as bad if we did not have to jump through time again and again and get stuck in them! Can't we get a few dull weeks!? It's not…"

"Jess…" Matt's eyes lit up.

"Hm?"

"What did you just say?"

"I'd like to have a few dull weeks?"

"No, before!" He urged.

"That we always get stuck in time?"

"Yes, while Ethan just goes back and forth…"

"That's why he knows so much…isn't it? Because he always travels to the future!" Jess didn't know what he wanted to hint at.

"Either that or…" Then the penny dropped.

"…he has an insider!" Jess finished his sentence. She blinked as if she couldn't yet really grasp it. "Who do you think could it be?"

"I have no idea!" Matt said.

* * *

><p>Thanks for reading! I really hope you enjoyed it!=)<p> 


	28. Chapter 28

_Hey hey=)_

_So, here we go again. This chapter is a rather calm one and the next one will be as well. I hope you still like it=)__The next chapter is as good as finished and I plan to upload it this weekend._

_Enjoy!_

* * *

><p>"Lt Carter, I got the map right here, you have to turn right and then left. You should be able to see it in a second."<p>

"Copy that, Jess." Jessica was in her action mode. She typed away on her keyboard busily and checked all the screens at once. Sometimes it was really hard to follow her, let alone to know how she did all the multitasking.

"We need another car in Hillingdon Street. Connor you are closest!" Jess coordinated.

"Got it! I've always wanted to do this!" Connor said while he raced the black SUV through the streets like a maniac. "I love my job!"

Jess sniggered while everyone else just rolled their eyes or pulled a face.

The team was busy catching a stray mammoth baby. The animal had missed its last loophole home and galloped through the streets of London now. The team tried to corner it hence they had to cut off his escape routes.

"I am in position!" Connor reported right on time because only a second later he watched the mammoth gallop wildly past him.

"Abby, Matt, it should be heading towards you!" Jess chimed in. The two of them was waiting in a car at the end of a street blocking it from traffic.

"I see it, Jess." Abby said aiming an EMD at the little one that was actually really as big as their car.

It seemed to be totally blind for everything. It was in a flight mode and just kept running and running. Abby waited for it to be in shooting range. "Come on." She mumbled while she held her weapon close to her face.

She shot and the mammoth tripped and fell before hitting the concrete with a loud bang. It slid over the ground a few metres until it came to a halt right in front of their car. Matt sucked the air in sharply at the view of the heavy fury animal.

"That was close."

"The soldier who is bringing the cage is just round the corner, Abby." Jess said.

"All right, well done guys. Now let's just pack this thing up…" Abby shot Matt a disapproving look and he corrected himself. "…the mammoth and get it to the ARC."

* * *

><p>At the A.R.C. Lester entered the ops room just then. As always, despite his height, he walked around as proud as he could, looking very busy in his dark suit and with the briefcase in his hand. He had just returned from a meeting with the Prime Minister.<p>

"Jess, fill me in here."

"We caught a mammoth baby, but the anomaly is already closed so they have to bring it in."

"Another one for the petting zoo, lovely. Anyway, shouldn't you be at home after everything?"

"No, Sir."

Lester rolled his eyes. "But no long hours today! When that clock strikes four you are out of here."

"But…"

"Did I not make my point?"

"Yes, Sir." Jess suppressed a grin.

"Good." He walked towards his office. "Ah and we're having a team meeting this afternoon!"

* * *

><p>Jess turned back to the ADD and coordinated the last steps of the mission.<p>

"Hello Miss Parker." The voice was familiar but Jess hadn't heard it in a long time. She turned around at once and smiled as she saw who it was.

"Julian! Hi! Where have you been? I haven't seen you in ages!" She smiled at the soldier Julian Cooper who had once been her secret admirer. She had gone out with him once, but he had quickly noticed that Jess had already fallen for Captain Becker. However, she still owned him a meal and a dance.

He chuckled. "Well, I haven't been in the country. Secret mission. I'd have to kill you if I told you!"

"I see! But you're back!"

"I am." He smiled. "So what's going on around here? I mean, I have heard some bits of course…"

Jess nodded. "Yeah, this really is like a déjà vu, isn't it?"

"Almost seems like it."

* * *

><p>Matt locked himself in his office after everything was done.<p>

He needed silence in order to think about everything that has happened so far concerning the present and future.

He sat down at his desk, but stood up again to make a few steps through the room. He sat down again and his fingers drummed a rhythmic pattern onto the table top.

Matt stood up again and rubbed his face. This was so frustrating!

The team leader with the Irish accent couldn't grasp a clear thought.

He went over to a high narrow metal cupboard.

He pulled out the top drawer that looked bigger from the outside than it did from the inside.

The team leader emptied it at first before he pushed a small button under it that made the base pop. It came off and there were lots of pictures and newspaper articles hidden, all documents that better stayed hidden.

He picked up a small silver object and turned it around in his hands. He remembered Becker telling him something about it being the key to the chest and that he should trust his guts...

"Well, my guts tell me that the key is kind of important." Matt muttered still looking at it. Processing…

Something else came to his mind then.

After he had put everything back into place he walked out of his office in the direction of the science wing.

He passed Connor's lab and as the scientist spotted him he waved him inside hectically. The door opened with a hissing sound.

"Matt, you've got to see this!"

"What is it, Connor?" Connor excitedly started typing on his laptop without noticing the sour undertone in Matt's voice.

"Look at this!" He pressed some more buttons and grabbed a remote that was wired to the laptop. "Okay." Connor pointed the remote into the air. "Watch!"

Matt crossed his arms over his chest with a rather dull expression on his face.

There was a laser ray coming out of the object, but not a normal one, because this one just ended after about two meters. It just hung there in thin air like a laser sword out of Star Wars.

"That…" Matt frowned.

"That's not all!" Connor pressed a few more keys on his laptop grinning stupidly the whole time.

The end of the ray grew thicker. The air suddenly started to heat up quickly. It flickered and sizzled around the red light ball.

A silver spark appeared out of nowhere.

Matt raised his eyebrows as a golden one joined the silver one.

"Connor, what…" More sparks appeared.

"It's the beginning of an anomaly!" Connor laughed excitedly.

Matt just stared at it incredulous.

Connor was still laughing but his happiness didn't last long.

Suddenly the ball that had had the size of an orange now disappeared and the laser did what every normal laser would do. It burned a whole into the wall.

"Oops!" Connor quickly shut it down. "Of course it still has some glitches!"

Matt cocked his eyebrows. "Is that your TV-remote?"

"Er, well…"

The other man couldn't help grinning. "I have a feeling Abby won't be too happy about it! Keep trying Connor." He patted the scientist's shoulder before he left the office. But as he did part of him wasn't sure if it was such a good thing to be able to open an anomaly anywhere as you please.

Of course this was different from New Dawn, the huge anomaly Philip Burton had created in order to get new resources.

* * *

><p>Robert dripped a few drops of a yellow liquid into five different Petri dishes.<p>

Matt walked up to him and as he said "hello" Robert almost dropped the pipette. "Whoa…"

"Easy there, mate!"

"Mr Anderson…" Robert struggled to get his bearings back up. "What are you doing here?"

"Nothing in particular." Robert wiped one arm over his forehead. He put the pipette down carefully, though his hand had started shaking. "What's that?" The team leader pointed at the dishes.

"We extracted the different substances from plants…from the ancient ones of course…er, and we made some kind of serum with all the self-healing components in it and we are planning to test it on human cells."

"What do you expect from that?"

"Well, er…to see what happens… There might be a cure for some disease?" He had made it sound like a question rather than a statement.

Before Matt could enquire any further Jess told him over coms that he was to see Lester.

* * *

><p>The whole team was gathered in Lester's office.<p>

The boss stood behind his desk with his arms behind his back.

"Listen, I saw the Minister this morning and being the Minister you don't say no to him, so his nephew is going to visit us tomorrow."

"His nephew?" Abby asked.

"Yes, as far as I know he is 16 years old and has an IQ of god knows what. He's all into science and wants to study in Oxford. The Minister wants him to have a look into our facility."

"What?"

"Does he know what we're doing here?"

"No details of course! The A.R.C. is nothing to brag about! He does know there are anomalies, but he doesn't know that we are travelling through time like we're taking a walk. So, no word about that, especially not about missing people! I don't want to have any trouble with the press later on if the boy doesn't keep his bloody mouth shut. And he certainly doesn't know about the petting zoo we have here. So keep him out of that area!"

"Excuse me? 'Keep him?'" Danny asked with his arms crossed.

"Of course you'll be showing him around." Lester's gesture indicated the whole team. "As if I want to spend my day babysitting, so he could spy on me and tell his uncle." He mumbled.

"But who will watch him then?" Emily asked.

"I have lots of stuff to do!" Danny put his hands up in defence.

"Yeah, me too!" Abby said not really keen on taking on the responsibility.

"What about Connor watching him?" Danny asked grinning. He could practically hear Becker laughing along with him. If he was there, he would have said something like: _"Yes, put the child together with the mad scientist." _Danny probably wouldn't admit it, but he missed his friend.

"Excuse me!?" Connor complained.

"Well, birds of a feather flock together. You could talk science the whole day." Lester said.

"Ouf, well I don't know if that's such a good idea…I mean…"

"We'll make a schedule!"Jess cut in and saved Connor an excuse. "That way everyone has to deal with him and the kid gets a look into every ones work and has lots to tell his uncle."

Lester considered it and approved the idea. "Sounds perfect, Parker!"

Everyone agreed to that, some rather reluctantly and some more willing like Emily for example.

"Great, we are eight and that…" Jess stopped and swallowed before she corrected herself. "I mean there are seven of us which means everyone will watch him for a little more than an hour and I assume you take the first hour, James?" Jess asked cheerily and everyone grinned at Lester's dumbfounded face.

"Er, me?"

"Of course! You as head of this facility should welcome our guest personally! Especially since it's the Prime Minister's nepew!"

There was suppressed laughter all around.

"For god's sake!"

* * *

><p><em>Thanks for staying with me and reading and commenting and just everything=)<em>


	29. Chapter 29

_There will be more action in the next chapter, but I didn't want to leave this one out!_

* * *

><p>"Good morning Abby, Connor."<p>

"Good morning…Jess…?" Connor hesitated greeting her. She walked past him and Abby who starred after her wide eyed.

"Is it me or is she awfully happy today?" Abby frowned.

"And colourful." Connor added. He looked at his girlfriend mimicing her confusion.

Jess wore a yellow summer dress with matching high heels and a pink wide belt around her waist. Moreover, there was a corsage on her wrist and a pink flower in her hair.

That day one could not not look at her and hence everyone who past her turned around to watch her walk away.

Connor and Abby made their way over to the common room to meet up with the rest of the team. Before they got down to work they usually grabbed a cup of coffee and talked about the latest gossip.

On their way Connor had made one comment after the other concerning Jess's looks. Just as they opened the door he said:

"If Action man was here he would have thrown his jacket over her."

"So, I reckon you have already seen Jess?" Emily asked. She and Matt were sitting at a table chatting. Danny was the only one who hadn't arrived yet.

"Uh huh." Connor answered.

"Yeah, what's going on with her?" Abby asked.

"Whatever she took I think I want something." Connor joked and sat down next to Matt who countered: "I think you've already had too much!"

"I think she is in a repression mode or something." Emily suggested ignoring Matt and Connor.

The door opened and Danny entered the room. There was a stunned look on his face:

"Guys, I have just seen the sun rise. If that's not a sunny disposition I don't know what is." He sat down as well. "Have you…"

"Yes, Danny, we have all seen her." Abby interrupted him.

"I am not sure if I should be jealous of Becker for having her or of her for being in such a good mood!"

"I'd go with the latter. It's the saver option if you enjoy living." Connor said.

"Guys…" Matt chimed in. "I don't want to ruin your mood but the whole time we're talking about Becker as if he'd just gone round the corner to buy some chocolate!"

Silence fell upon the room.

"Matt, what the hell do you want to say? That he's dead?" Danny burst out.

"I didn't say he was dead! I am just saying that we can't keep pretending he'd just gone round the corner!"

"We can't do anything else Matt!" Abby said.

"Yeah mate, Abby and I needed a year to get back. Action man might just take a detour as well."

"But you weren't with an unpredictable killer!"

"Matt, what's your point here?" Emily asked.

"Simply reminding you that you do what Jess does…"

Before anyone could argue any further their little Miss Sunshine entered the room.

"Hey guys. The Minister's nephew has arrived and Lester wants to quickly introduce the team before he gives him a tour."

The chairs shuffled and ruffled over the floor as everyone stood up.  
>In the corridor outside of the room Jess grabbed Matt's arm and the two of them trailed behind.<p>

"Matt I ran a background check on everyone around here and the security systems as well, well I am still on it, but there can't be an intruder! It's impossible!"

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, the staffs have high integrity."

"No newcomers?" Matt asked.

"No...well not brand new anyway…" She paused several times during the next sentence because her mind was just wrapping around something. "…a team...has just...returned from...a military mission."

"Returned from where?"

"The army concealed it. I have no access to those files." She frowned while she was still processing this.

"But Matt…I don't think…do you think that…? What does Becker have to do with all of this?"

"Jess, let's worry about it later!"

They had reached the ops room where James Lester was waiting for them with a young light brown haired boy next to him. He was wearing one of these typical nerd glasses that everyone was wearing these days.

"So, this is the operating team." Lester announced. "Team Leader Matt Anderson, Abigail Maitland, Connor Temple, Danny Quinn and Jessica Parker. This is…"

"Bobbie." The boy reported quickly. "It's just Bobbie."

"Hi Bobbie." Jess greeted him friendly with one of her radiant smiles.

Lester looked at the ceiling from under his eyelashes. "Yes, well you'll get to know each of them later, now come along. Cop chop! And you get back to work!" He told the team while he had started walking down a corridor. Bobbie followed him suit and everyone could faintly hear him asking: "You really got them under control here, huh?"

"One has to do the job!" The team chuckled at Lester's usual bored tone.

* * *

><p>After Lester had had his shift he gladly handed the child over to Danny, and Danny then to Abby, who was just as happy to get rid of him.<p>

The kid was friendly, polite and bright, so that was not the point. The main feature about him was that he was exhausting and somehow getting easily on ones nerves, because he was quite forward and demanding. He talked the whole time and mostly about how he would improve things. Anyway, he wasn't very sensitive.

Abby looked at her watch every five minutes because she simply couldn't listen to him anymore. The worst part was that she had nothing to talk to him about since she wasn't allowed to tell him what she really worked on. Rex had almost given her away though, because she had forgotten to put him into his cage in her office and so he was on the loose enjoying a flight through his territory. Anyway she had been lucky that Rex had hidden from the strange kid.

Right now she typed her security code into the panel outside of Connor's lab.

"What if someone forgets his code?" Bobbie asked.

"Well, you mustn't forget it!"

"But what if? It's really risky. Have you thought about implanting microchips?"

"You should ask Jess about that later!" Abby quickly pushed the boy through the now open door.

"Hey A…" Before Connor could finish his greeting Abby cut him off saying:

"He's all yours!" It took her merely a second to close the door behind her again.

"She's a little restless, isn't she?" Bobbie asked.

"Er, well, she's stressed…" Connor defended his girlfriend.

"Yeah, she might want to take a day off."

Connor just wanted to reply something about not offending her, but Bobbie was already looking around the lab asking the next question: "So, what are you working on?"

* * *

><p>"You should really try it with copper!"<p>

"Yeah, mate, listen I know what I am doing!" Connor rarely sounded pissed, but right now he did.

"Mh, yeah you did a pretty good job except for…"

"Emily!" Connor yelled into the corridor and she stuck her head out of a storage room: "Yes?"

"Perfect! Cheers mate! Hope you had a good day!" The scientist just left them standing there. They looked at each other first and then after Connor who quickly walked away.

Emily the quiet soul of the team, the woman from the past had never believed she'd be happy about not having children.

Matt however had a way of dealing with the boy that everyone admired. He just stayed as calm as always. He let the boy do the talking and simply stayed quiet the whole time.

"How does he do that?" Danny asked Emily as Matt and Bobbie passed them. They noticed that Bobbie had actually trouble thinking up coherent questions. Matt seemed to irritate him somehow.

They walked down to the science wing because the kid had seen everything else already.

"So, what are you doing here?" Another trick of Matt's was never to answer a question directly:

"As you can see, there are more laboratories down here with about twenty scientists around. They test substances that an anomaly sometimes brings."

Bobbie walked over to a table with Petri dishes. Some dishes were covered with a dark fury skin and others with a rather snake like skin.

"You test it on what? And what are these substances?"

"That's the question. What exactly is it and how can we use it?"

"So, you'll test it on humans?"

"You're really good at this!" Matt simply answered.

"What if something goes wrong?"

"Wrong how?"

"Let's say you change human cells, but for worse. Do you just let it fall under the table? Lock the secret away? Do you look for an antidote?"

"Let's assume nothing goes wrong in the first place."

"You shouldn't take this lightly. This could be dangerous!"

"Yeah, come on it's time for you to meet our field coordinator." Matt steered him out of the lab.

"Do you really just pretend not to care or are you really just unaware?"

Matt just listened half-heartedly to his ramblings.

"…this could change mankind!"

"Oh don't worry! We know!"

"You just don't seem to see the obvious!" Matt came to a sudden stop at this. But they had just reached the ops room and Bobbie had already spotted Jess. "Your field coordinator does have a strong leaning towards colours, doesn't she? She looks very young to me, but I know that age is relative of course. Thanks Matt!"

Matt had just gotten a strange feeling though he didn't know yet why. "Wait a second!" He squinted at the boy who stopped in order to turn around. "What was your name again?"

"Bobbie."

"As in…?"

The boy scoffed. "Robert, of course!" As if it was the most obvious and simplest thing in the world.

"Miss Parker."

"Oh, hi Bobbie. Call me Jess." She stretched out her hand to him.

"Nice to meet you Jess. You really like colours don't you?"

"Well, yes I do." She pursed her lips in amusement.

"Suits you."

"Thank you." She suppressed a laugh.

"I never expected you to be the field coordinator, because you simply don't look like a computer geek. But these are all yours, right?" He pointed at the ADD. "Impressive." He went on ranting about computers and everything while Jess started to feel slightly uneasy.

* * *

><p>It was almost time for him to leave when he asked:<p>

"So, you are also in charge of the security system?"

Jess paused. "Well, part of it."

"Because all this has to be covered quite well, hasn't it? You must have several security systems around here. This must be a lot of work for just one person, I suppose."

"Yes, quite…" She closed her eyes and hoped he would stop talking. Her heartbeat started pounding loud in her ears. She didn't want to think about it, let alone talk about it to some nerdy child!

Lester's voice echoed through the ops room and saved her from further questions.

"Bobbie, your driver is here to pick you up."

"Perfect! Well, thank you Jess, it was really nice to meet you!"

She put on a smile and looked at him. "You too." She sighed.

* * *

><p>Later Abby discovered her alone in the common room. As she entered Jess quickly turned toward a wall and her hands wandered up to her face.<p>

"Jess?" She dabbed her cheeks and turned around to her friend with a smile displayed on her lips.

"Are you all right?" Abby asked.

"Of course I am." Jess said. Thank god the day was over!

* * *

><p><em>As always: Feel free to comment!=)<em>

_And thanks!_


	30. Chapter 30

_This story develops pretty quickly at the moment. It's almost as if its writing itself.=) I am done with most of it, well with a rough draft anyway._

_I hope you'll like it!_

* * *

><p>Becker clicked his tongue. Outside, it became dark again and big raindrops fell from the heavens.<p>

He opened the door rather reluctantly and Ethan marched into the room with the loaded gun.

The predators rattled against the window desperately wanting to gain entrance.

"That was really stupid of you!" Ethan snarled cocking the gun and moving closer to Becker who had stepped backwards into the middle of the room with raised hands.

Suddenly, the front door downstairs cracked and burst.

The two men held their breaths and listened to whatever was going on downstairs.

Predators!

They heard them crackling and rummaging through the rooms searching for prey. As the staircase creaked both men suddenly jumped towards the door to lock it.

They leaned against it next to each other.

"Where is it?" Ethan whispered.

"It's not here!" Becker hissed. Ethan glared at him considering if he could believe him.

"The drawers are all empty! See for yourself!"

The predators on the other side of the door made their presence known by scratching over the wood, hence Becker and Ethan jumped away from the door.

Ethan's jaw tensed while he was still looking at Becker and pointing the gun at him. "Open the drawers!"

Becker stared hard at his opposite before he went over to the cupboard to yank vigorously every drawer out.

The rain stopped and the predators snarled dangerously in front of the door and the window. They wanted to get in and they would eventually.

The glass cracked and the wood shattered.

Becker started to sweat and he balled his hands into fist. The soldier in him tried to stay calm but his heart beat pounded loudly in his ears.

Ethan walked around the room and looked into each drawer. He breathed frustrated.

"Then where is it?"

"I don't know!"

The noises grew louder and louder.

And then the door gave in and a predator stuck its ugly claw through a hole.

Becker braced himself.

There had to be a way out!

"Are you sure it's not here?"

"Hell, yes! We have to get out of here!"

Ethan grinned menacingly at Becker's nervousness.

The hole in the door became bigger.

Becker's heart sped up and his blood rushed through his veins. He was unarmed and had no defence against the predators. His fingernails dug into the flesh of his hands.

"I always get what I want." Ethan said.

Finally he pulled out his small black gadget and needed only 10 seconds to open an anomaly.

He cocked his eyebrows at Becker showing off his advantage.

At the same time the door burst and shattered into pieces and the window pane scattered into a million sharp sparkling crystals. The predators stuck their heads into the room.

Now the menacing golden light was the only escape and although Becker didn't know what awaited him on the other side he made a run for it.

But one of the predators was quicker and drove its sharp claw into Becker's leg. He screamed because of the sudden pain before the anomaly swallowed him whole.

* * *

><p>Jess stared at the red digits of the clock.<p>

She was lying in the darkness on her side with one hand under her head.

3.50 am.

After a minute the numbers jumped to 3.51.

She listened to her breathing and the prevailing silence.

It was so quiet.

She snuggled her face into the pillow to inhale deeply, but the smell, his smell, was slowly fading, almost as if he had never been there. How long had it been? One week? Two weeks?

She couldn't remember, but to her it was like an eternity had passed.

She pulled his blanket around her small body and tried to snuggle even deeper into the mattress, wishing that his bed would somehow swallow her up.

His clock reminded her of the lonely morning hour.

"Where are you?" She whispered into the empty dark confines of his bedroom.

* * *

><p>Becker hit the ground pretty hard. He groaned because of the pain that pulsed through his injured leg. It felt like someone drove a knife into it again and again. He clenched his teeth and screwed his eyes up to endure the pain. His calf started to cover up in a warm, sticky, wet liquid.<p>

Coughing shook his body and a kick was aimed at his back.

Another wave of pain throbbed through him and again another blow hit him pretty hard.

"Come on! Get up!" An unknown voice commanded. Becker moaned and coughed. There were more kicks and punches. His body burned and his lip burst open. He could neither see nor hear, for his mind was swept up into a thick fog and a black unconsciousness tried to drag him deeper and deeper down. He struggled to stay awake, but the pain was everywhere now and the beeping in his ears grew louder and louder.

His head lolled forward as he was yanked up by the arms.

"Take him away!" Ethan ordered.

Another blow hit him and knocked him out cold.

* * *

><p>"Jess, please stop asking about it! I can't tell you anything!" Julian Cooper answered annoyed by Jessica Parker who kept asking questions about the secret mission he had been on.<p>

Jess sighed frustrated turning away from Julian so he wouldn't see her face.

The young woman wasn't herself lately and Julian got a little concerned about her. "Jess, are you all right?" But that was the wrong question, because Jess exploded:

"Why is everybody asking me this question today!? Of course I am all right!" She replied emphasizing every word. She turned around on her heel and marched back to the ADD.

After a few clicks a new window opened displaying a progress bar with 90%. The green line crept slowly forward and the computer beeped as 100% were reached.

'No matches found.'

The field coordinator sighed closing the window.

"Impossible!" She mumbled and again. "Impossible!"

She had run the security checks again and again, back and forth, and had tried to retrace every of her steps before Ethan had found her. Nothing. She simply couldn't remember anything unusual.

There can't be an intruder!

Except if…it was someone familiar…Now, Jess don't become paranoid, she scolded herself.

"Hey Jess." She jerked and spun around quickly.

"Danny! I didn't hear you coming!"

"Yes, I have noticed. Are you all right?"

Jess stared at him indignantly. "What do you want?"

"Er…" Danny frowned and back-pedalled quickly. "Could you please check where Matt is? I can't find him anywhere."

She turned around to her keyboard to search for Matt's black box signal. A frown formed on her forehead. "That's odd… His black box must be turned off."

Danny bowed closer to the screens while Jess opened a communication thread.

"Matt, do you read me?" She listened to nothing.

"Matt, where are you?" Again there was no answer.

"I can't reach him!" Jess said dead panned throwing a concerned look at Danny.

* * *

><p><em>Thanks for reading!=)<em>


	31. Chapter 31

_Have fun reading!=)_

* * *

><p>Becker's head hurt like hell and the room was spinning as he opened his eyes for a second.<p>

Every breath he took stung his side so he figured his ribs might be damaged.

A groan escaped his throat as he tried to sit up. Where the hell was he?

His vision was blurred at first, but it slowly cleared so he could take in his surroundings. He was in a small room made out of branches and lianas. It looked unreal and rather like a scene out of a movie.

He stood up slowly but the pain flowed through his whole limbs anyway. His legs were shaking and he needed a few seconds before he was sure he could move without falling down. He spotted something that looked like a door and tried to reach it, even though his left leg burned like hell after every step he took.

The door was locked of course. Besides that everything looked unreal it was really solid and robust.

Becker looked down at his trousers and noticed the torn cloth of his left leg and the long red bloody gash on his calf.

The soldier cursed under his breath.

On the opposite wall was a small window with wooden bars in front of it.

He limped over to it and what he saw outside took his breath away.

This place was like a tree house built high up in the air in a tree. There was kind of a whole village built in this fashion over the earth. Everything was braided out of branches and every room or tree house or however you want to call it was connected by bridges or gateways.

There were up to 20 people running around.

* * *

><p>The whole team was running around the A.R.C. looking for Matt.<p>

"He was in his lab this morning." Emily told the rest. "But where he went then I don't know."

"Oh come on he'll reappear somewhere." Connor was a little annoyed that they were keeping him from his laser pointer. He was just this close to find out how to stabilize it.

"I have a really bad feeling!" Jess said shaking her head.

"Why?" Abby frowned.

"He could be…ah never mind!" What if some of them was the traitor and not Matt? It would be dumb to tell them about her suspicions.

Everyone turned around then because Matt walked through the door, but stopped as he saw the gathering. "What's going on here?"

"Cheers! Now we can all go back to work!" Connor said rubbing his hands. He eagerly left the room to finish what he had started.

"Where have you been?" Emily asked Matt.

"I was in the panic room."

"What?" Danny exclaimed.

"Yes, someone has to check the medical stocking there from time to time.

"What about your black box?" Jess snapped. Everyone stared at her.

"Jess?" Abby put a hand onto her shoulder and went on in a calm tone. "You know that the panic room doesn't let any sort of rays through? Remember?"

Jess blinked a few times and then mumbled. "Right. Sorry Matt."

"Let's get some air, shall we?" Abby asked and pulled her away.

As the rest watched the two women leave Matt said: "I wonder if I shouldn't suspend her for a couple of days."

"Suspend!? Matt!"

"Emily, be reasonable! Look at her! Just for a couple of days!"

"But you'd make it worse by keeping her away!"

"As team leader I have a great responsibility."

"I agree with Matt."Danny chimed in. "But I also think that Emily is right. Look, nothing of this has affected her work so far. She didn't make any mistakes and that's the crucial point here!"

* * *

><p>Outside of the building Jess had calmed down and Abby had persuaded her to tell her nothing but the truth, so Jess admitted everything.<p>

"Jess, you know that's absurd! We would never hurt you. We are your friends! We are a team!"

"I know it's silly! I just panicked!"

Abby rubbed her shoulder.

Then the anomaly alarm went off.

Jess shot Abby a knowing glance and her breath caught in her throat. What if…

In her high heels she sprinted down the corridor as fast as she could.

* * *

><p>Becker's throat was dry and he longed for a drop of water. He was sitting on the floor of his cell propped up against the wall. He didn't know for how long he had been knocked out. For all he knew it could have been days! He had lost every sense of time.<p>

His stomach growled, his body ached, but at least he wasn't cold. The air was rather hot and sticky around here and it was lulling his mind. Everything seemed to be in a hazy blurry daze. Sometimes he had even trouble breathing.

He could barely keep his eyes open and as he waited for something to happen he suddenly heard Jess's voice: "Becker…Becker…" He blinked.

"Becker, open your eyes! Becker, do you read me? Becker, stay with me!"

The voice had become louder and louder in his ears and then it somehow exploded.

He opened his eyes wide. "Jess?" Becker looked around confused before he realised again where he was. He sighed settling back down thinking about Jess. All he could do was to get out of here in one piece and get back to her as soon as possible. He just hoped that she was okay. This ignorance, the not knowing if she was even okay made his heart crumble. He put his head back against the wall, her image always in front of his eyes, her voice in his ears.

Suddenly the door opened and Ethan towered above him.

Becker was too weak to stand up even though he wanted to.

"Look who stops by to say hello!" Becker mocked. Ethan just grinned. He threw a plastic bottle of water next to him and a bag of berries.

"What? You wouldn't want me starve to death?"

"It's okay if you barely stay alive!" Ethan answered and left again.

"What the hell do you still need me for!?" Becker yelled after him.

"I still don't have what I want, do I?"

* * *

><p>Jess had coordinated as good and precise as ever even though she had been really disappointed when nothing, well no one, had come through. Of course two soldiers had checked the other side but there had just been a huge desert.<p>

The team gathered again in the common room that night after the anomaly.

The atmosphere was pretty dull. No one said a word, but each of them knew what was on everyone's mind.  
>They had all hoped for Becker to return, but he hadn't.<p>

Jess nibbled at her bottom lip.

It was Connor who broke the silence: "I never thought I'd say that but I miss him, although he might hate me sometimes."

"He doesn't hate you." Jess said quietly. "He thinks you're a genius…he might have used the words mad and childish though…"

"He called me a genius?" Connor grinned.

A teardrop ran down Jess's cheek and her voice cracked. "Yeah…"

"I think we all miss him." Matt answered.

"I have hated him." Danny admitted. "When we first met."

"I liked him at first sight." Jess answered.

"Yes, I remember!" Abby chuckled and Jess joined her.

"It's Becker he'll be back." Emily said.

"He promised." Jess sniffed. "He promised that he'd always come back!" Abby pulled her into her arms.

"The question is just when." Danny said.

"Yes and what Ethan has to do with all this!" Emily added.

* * *

><p><em>I hope you liked it!=) thanks for reading!<em>


	32. Chapter 32

_Thanks Guys for reading this! I am glad you like it!=)_

* * *

><p><em>Jess smiled at him as she had shared the prawn crackers and Becker realised that that had been the moment when he had noticed her blue eyes. Those lovely eyes he had drowned in.<em>

_The smell of her hair hit his nose and the fragrant was sweet and heavy. It seemed to linger in the air over his head. There were tiny wrinkles on her nose as she flashed a radiant smile at him. Her lips were painted red and he couldn't take his eyes of them. Becker swallowed the lump in his throat and drew a deep breath. Now…now or never! His heartbeat a mile a minute, his throat went dry and her fragrant clouded his judgement._

_But suddenly he found himself jumping out of the car and running upstairs into a room that was ragged with lots of wires. He touched one and a metronome at the other end of the room started ticking immediately. Fear crept up inside of him, filling his guts._

_But the fear for himself hadn't been as bad as the fear for Jess, because she had come to defuse the bomb. "You can tell me Becker! Come on!" Her high pitched voice echoed through the room, but Becker couldn't see her._

_He told her to cut the red wire, but as she did hundreds of beetles suddenly fell from the ceiling, covering every inch of the room. Jess screamed. She screamed so loud! Her voice was bouncing of the walls again and again._

_It was horrible! Becker wanted to cover his ears, but he simply couldn't!_

_He just wanted it to stop! Her screams ebbed away but rose again. _

_He just wanted to reach her, but he couldn't move, because his feet were somehow glued to the floor._

_Tears burned his eyes, but all of a sudden the screaming stopped and the only thing he could hear were his own screams: "No! Jess!"_

* * *

><p>The door opened, but Becker didn't really notice. His mind was somehow clouded and he couldn't open his heavy eyelids. Was it Jess? His guardian angel?<p>

There was a strange blurred image of a person, but even if he wanted to he was in no condition to move.

His head hurt and there was a strange monotone humming in his ears.

He felt as light as a feather as he was lifted up into the air and he asked himself if he was dying.

* * *

><p>As he woke up hours later he felt as relaxed as ever. The humming had disappeared and his vision was clear. With a start he looked around, but his ribcage protested against the sudden movement and a grown escaped his throat. Where was he?<p>

He was lying on a mattress in a damp cave.

Whispers filled the air that sounded soothing like the purling of a spring. His body ached but was more relaxed than the last time he remembered. As he looked down his body he noticed that he was wrapped into a thin blanket and that his leg was bandaged and wasn't hurting anymore.

What the hell was going on here?

There were footsteps scratching over the rough surface.

Instinctively Becker looked for a weapon. He grabbed a rock next to him and flinched as his injuries complained. He could hardly move but held the rock firmly in one hand. He waited and listened.

The light of the cave entrance cast a shadow at the wall.

It became smaller and smaller the closer the person came.

He tensed his muscles and raised the rock.

But held onto it surprised as a woman entered his sight. She stopped and was just as surprised to see him awake. But she quickly recovered and called: "Max! He's awake!"

She was about 30 years old and slowly approached Becker: "You can lower your weapon, soldier. No one is going to harm you here."

Becker hesitated but did as she said although he held on to it and just then he noticed that she carried a bowl of water and towels over her arm.

"I am Lexi." She introduced herself and knelled down next to him to put the bowl down. She smiled at Becker's suspicious expression.

"Where the hell am I?" he asked quietly.

"As for now you are in no danger, I promise. Max will want to explain it to you himself, so would you please put the rock away? It makes me nervous." She was petite wearing man's clothing and her ash blond hair was braided and hung loosely over her shoulder.

Becker put it onto the ground but just where he could still easily reach it. Lexi suppressed a grin as she noticed this.

"Now if you don't mind, your bandage needs to be renewed." She waited for a reaction, but Becker was too stunned to bat an eyelid. So, Lexi just smiled and uncovered Becker's injured leg. He watched her silently with a mix of confusion and suspicion on his face. "You've been really lucky you know. Only one or two more days and it would have been too late. We got you out in time, you had a really nasty blood poisoning there. How did it happen?"

"Got me out?" Becker asked instead of answering.

That moment a man entered. He looked about 60 years old and had white greyish hair and a beard. As he smiled kindly there were small wrinkles around his eyes.

"Oh good you're awake. We were all a little worried that you wouldn't make it." His voice was one of these story tellers that you could easily fall asleep to. "I am Max." He held out a hand to him that Becker grabbed hesitantly. "Becker."

Meanwhile Lexi put a paste onto the wound that cooled it down quickly.

"Now, I am sure you have lots of questions and I'll be happy to answer all of them, but may I ask you first from what time you are?"

"2013." Becker answered and frowned so Max explained:

"O I am just curious. We have all kind of different time backgrounds around here, Lexi was born in 1920 and I am from 1777. " Becker was quite astonished as he heard that.

* * *

><p>„Guys! I got it!" Connor yelled excitedly through the ops room.<p>

"What?" Jess asked.

"Come on! I'll show you! Quickly, come on!" Connor waved at her.

Jess rolled her eyes, but moved her chair nevertheless.

Lester stuck his head out of his office as he noticed the team members walking past his office one after another: "Would someone mind telling me what this fuzz is about?"

"Come on Lester! You've got to see this!" Connor yelled and ran off to his lab.

"No running in the corridors!" The boss yelled back. "What do I have to see?" He asked Danny who just walked past him. The former police officer shrugged: "I'll tell you when I know it!"

Jess passed him then: "So, are you coming?"

"Oh I wouldn't want to miss all the fun!" Lester said sarcastically. "This time I'll sack him if it is something useless again!" He mumbled, but Jess just grinned, knowing that he would never do that.

In his lab Connor was already preparing for his show.

The whole team gathered around his desk curious of what was so important.

"Okay, this is a huge moment. Ladies and gentlemen gather around please and let me…"

"Connor!" Abby hissed.

Lester had his arms crossed and looked pretty unenthusiastic.

"All right, now check this out!"

He pressed a few keys on his laptop and pointed the TV remote into the air and just then Abby recognized it.

"I thought the remote broke and you had to repair it!?"

"Er…I never said when…" Connor excused himself.

"Temple, would you stop wasting my time and show me for what I am paying you?" Lester demanded.

"Oh, this is totally worth it!"

Like last time as Matt had seen it the laser hung in the air and formed a ball, but this time it all happened very quickly and an anomaly opened in less than ten seconds.

"I created an anomaly!" Connor said excitedly.

Everyone was stunned and looked at the golden ball hanging in the air.

"Connor…"Abby whispered.

Jess's heart beat pounded in her ears. Her eyes widened and her cheeks grew hot.

The anomaly alert went off then.

"It's a pretty small one." Lester just observed.

"Yeah, I am working on that." Connor said.

"What about the time factor?" Danny asked.

"On that too. This one leads to…well…nowhere…"

"Nowhere?" Emily asked.

"Yeah…" Connor picked his dating calculator up to point it at the anomaly. He showed the team what he meant. The display showed: 0.

"But I'll figure it out!" He added.

"Connor," Jess's throat was dry. "Connor, could we…" She didn't finish the sentence and was surprised as Lester did it for her.

"Could we track down Ethan with it and bring Captain Becker back?"

"Theoretically. If I can make it bigger and figure out how to programme the time. Of course we'd have to know which time they are in."

Lester nodded curtly but was satisfied with the answer.

"Can you close it?" Matt asked.

"Sure." Connor pressed a button on the remote and the anomaly disappeared.

The alarm ceased.

* * *

><p><em>Thanks for reading=)<em>


	33. Chapter 33

_Happy Easter everyone!_

_So, this is a little present for you.=)_

_I hope you like it!_

* * *

><p>Becker still needed a few seconds to process everything.<p>

"So, you are a group of rebels?"

Max nodded. Becker frowned at him: "Why did you get me out?"

"Because everyone Ethan keeps locked up is probably a threat to him which means he'd be on our side. Am I right?"

Becker shook his head. "Yes, I hate him, but a threat? I am not sure about that. What do you want from Ethan? I mean what is this all about? I don't understand it."

"Peace." Max simply answered. "We have been one big group of stranded time travellers, but Ethan seized the power and so we split up. Now, he terrorizes us for no reasons. He was a great leader at the beginning, but it all changed as he disappeared one day and returned with this thing that opens the time windows for him everywhere to any time."

Becker nodded and Max went on:

"I think he's looking for something, but we don't know for what. Knowing Ethan it can't be good and that's why I am concerned."

"I can understand that."

"Dad!?" A male voice called out and a boy of about 21 years came into sight.

"My son Jack." Max introduced him.

"Will you be joining us?" Jack asked his dad.

"Yes, in a moment." Max answered and then added: "Jack, this is Becker."

"Hi." The boy nodded. "Everything is ready!" He said and left again.

"Are you joining us for dinner?" Max asked Becker who took the invitation. Max handed him a stick, so Becker could use it as a support. He limped out of the cave to a near fireplace where around 15 people were, kids and adults. The youngest one was about 4 years old and the oldest person seemed to be Max.

Becker hadn't noticed that it had already become dark outside.

The fire was the only light source. It was huge and the flames crackled loudly.

Everyone watched Max and the new man interested who limped up to the tree trunks that were put around the fire as seats.

"Everyone this is Becker from 2013." Max announced into the prevailing silence.

Some muttered a hello and others just nodded, but all of them seemed to welcome him.

A girl of about 16 years got huge excited eyes and exclaimed: "2013! Do you have cars and planes there?"

Everyone laughed.

"Sally!" An older woman chided her.

"Why can't I ask?"

"Everyone knows that!" The boy from before, Jack, said.

"Well, I don't!" she snapped.

"It's her dream to drive a car!" Max told Becker. "She has never seen one herself, being from 1202."

"But I will, when I travel through time again. Everyone did it more than once but me!" Sally complained.

"Shut up and eat!" A man said to her rather rudely, before he turned to Becker. "So you're a soldier?" He was about 30 years old. "I am Private Marc Smith from 2000."

Becker nodded. "Captain Becker." As Marc heard this he sat up a little straighter, because once a soldier always a soldier and as such he had been taught to respect one with a higher status.

Someone handed Captain Becker a bowl of hot soup.

He looked around and asked. "Aren't you afraid of the creatures?"

"They usually leave us alone. No idea why, maybe it's not their territory. "Someone said.

"So, why are you here, Captain?" Marc asked.

"Ethan took me."

"What? Out of your time and he brought you here? Why would he do that?"

Becker hesitated. He wasn't sure how much he could trust these people. He knew practically nothing, although his feeling told him that they were good people. "Well…he is looking for something. He took me to the future and then here…"

"What is he looking for?"

Becker hesitated again. Should he say more?

"You don't have to answer. It's natural that you are suspicious." Max said and Jack chimed in: "I bet it's about the box Ethan is so crazy about!"

"Box?" Becker asked.

"Yes, he's totally fixated on it, but no one knows what is in there. I am sure he doesn't even know it himself." Jack laughed.

"He wants the key." Becker mumbled and bit his tongue. He didn't want to say anything, but it just slipped out.

"And you have it?"

Becker looked into the faces of the people around him and nodded slowly.

"But you hid it, obviously, otherwise you wouldn't be here." Marc concluded.

"Does Ethan know anything about its whereabouts? Place or time?" Max asked and as Becker shook his head Max breathed relieved. "That means there is nothing to fear right now."

"Nothing to fear?" Lexi burst out and pointed at Becker. "He'll come for him of course!"

"He doesn't know where we are!" Someone said.

"He'll find out!"

"No, he won't! He never did!"

"And he never will!" A female voice said firmly from out of the forest. A woman with black hair, about Becker's age stepped out of the woods with another man following her. "He's looking in the north. We just watched his troops for a couple of hours. We shouldn't get trouble." They sat down at the fire and Becker couldn't help but notice that she was quite beautiful and really tough.

"Trudy!" Marc said in a mocking tone. "This might be interesting to you. Captain Becker, here, is from 2013."

There was a flicker in her eyes, although she said: "I don't see why."

She busied herself with a stick and a knife.

"Her best friend was taken by Ethan to 2012 but she never returned." The girl Sally explained and got a killing glance from Trudy.

Becker chocked on his food. He looked at Trudy.

"A woman with black hair?"

Trudy just glared at him.

"Her name was Emily." Another woman answered.

Becker sucked in a sharp breath. "I know her."

Everyone paused and stared at him incredulously. "She's in my team working for a government facility investigating anomalies, the time windows."

"So, she's fine?" Jack asked surprised.

Becker nodded. "Pretty much. She has made herself at home and adapted quite well."

"That's good news!" Max said. "We never knew what had happened to her. Trudy, this should be good news to you!"

Trudy drove the stick into the ground and stood up to walk away mumbling. "Whatever."

"She's still mad at her!" Sally observed quietly.

* * *

><p>"Matt!" Emily said. Matt stood arms crossed in front of a window from where he could look into the science labs. He watched the scientists packing everything up and into boxes.<p>

"Hey there." Matt he answered putting an arm around her shoulder and kissing her hair.

"What's going on here? Why are they moving all this stuff?" Emily asked him.

"As far as I know, the science labs are still part of Prosperous Industries and someone has discovered a huge whatever and now Prosperous wants them to work under their roof."

"So that we won't find out what it is?"

"Probably." Matt replied. For a moment they watched the scientists carry boxes along with some removing men in silence. Suddenly Matt turned to her and said:

"Hey, how about we'll do something fun tonight? Just the two of us? It's been a while and these last weeks were so crazy, so, what do you think?" Matt smiled at Emily putting his hands around her on her lower back.

"I'd like that, I've missed you!" She tugged at the collar of his shirt.

"I am sorry, but I'll make it up to you. I just had a lot on my mind." He kissed her softly on the lips.

Then suddenly Danny interrupted their private moment by asking from behind them:

"I don't want to disturb you, but are you interested in a team night out?"

"Well, no thanks, we've just made plans for tonight." Matt answered without breaking the embrace.

"I see." Danny winked before he left them alone.

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><p><em>Thanks for reading!=)<em>


	34. Chapter 34

_Next chapter is right here! =D_

_And I know I spelled "Prospero" wrong in the last one (silly autocorrection=( ) , sorry for that and for any other mistake I made or will make...=/_

_Thank you so much for all the reviews!_

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><p>Becker had slept peacefully, but the thought of his flat and his bed didn't leave him alone. There was this longing, that he couldn't deny, was presently there around him. He couldn't just sit around here, he needed to do something, anything to get home.<p>

Everyone in the tribe seemed to be okay with their way of life. They had settled down here and didn't want to leave, but Becker couldn't think about anything else. If he stayed it would mean that he let his team down and he couldn't bear that thought. It would be as if he had lost another mission all over again.

Who would take care of the Security of either the ARC or the team, if he wasn't there?

Who could do the job better than him?

He was reliable and trustworthy. On every mission everyone relied on him to get them out safely. He was the first one to enter a scene and the last one who'd leave, always making sure that everyone was safe.

What if something happened while he was here sitting around doing nothing?

His control and guilt complexes ate him up.

He even forgot about his wounds and the bruises covering his body.

He needed to do something. NOW!

With a groan he got up and limped with the help of his stick out of the cave and over to the old man.

"Morning Max."

"Good morning. How are you feeling?" The leader smiled friendly at the soldier.

"Better. Listen, I need to talk to you. I have to get home and the only way I see is stealing Ethan's anomaly creator."

"Mh…and for that you need our help, obviously." Max concluded.

"I just need to know how you got in to get me out."

"Well, I hope you understand that I have to consult the tribe before I can give you an answer. I can't just tell you where the enemy is and you are in no condition to manage your escape on your own."

Becker nodded. "Sure."

Max looked at him with wise eyes. "Who did you leave behind? Family?"

Becker sat down with a dark expression on his face. He shook his head and explained:

"My parents didn't want me to join the army. I haven't spoken to them in ages." His glance swept over the ground and back up to the mountain tops in the far distance behind the trees. "I have to get home to my girlfriend." He murmured.

Max patted his shoulder. Becker looked up into Max's eyes.

"Can I do anything till you make your decision? I just need to do something."

"Trudy is making weapons, if you'd like to help her. She's round that hill down by the river."

Becker nodded.

* * *

><p>The ground was uneven and covered with rocks and wood. Becker's calf hurt as he hobbled into the direction Max had shown him.<p>

The wound was better but still festering from time to time. He clenched his jaw to .

Trudy was sitting on a stone near the water and carved spears.

"Can I help you?" Becker asked and sat down opposite of her.

Trudy squinted at him. She shrugged. "Couldn't care less!"

She pulled another knife out and handed it to him. Becker took it along with one of the sticks Trudy had had collected. They worked in silence before Trudy spoke up all of a sudden.

"So, she's fine then?" It was obvious that she meant Emily.

Becker nodded. "Yes she is."

Trudy nodded. "She adapted?"

"Yes, quite well. She has her own place to live now and…uhm…a job and she has a boyfriend."

She looked at him. "Are you close?"

"A little."

"Has she never mentioned me?"

"No, sorry." Trudy carved in silence for a while and so Becker focused as well until he noticed that Trudy was staring at him.

"Do you want to go back?"

Becker nodded: "I promised."

There was some strange glimmer in Trudy's eyes. "You don't have to if you don't want to."

Becker imagined Jess and didn't notice Trudy edging closer.

He shook his head. "I need to!"

His eyes stared dreamily into the distance, not focusing on anything. Jess… His heart clenched. He remembered the first day he had seen her. She had caught him by surprise and totally off guard. He also remembered his first thought: This girl a field coordinator? Was this a joke? This was no game!

He hadn't thought she could do the job! Never! He hadn't trusted her! Definitely not in those high heels! But she had changed his mind. Turned him around 100% percent and right now there was hardly another person he would trust with his life out in the field.

Suddenly he thought he could feel her lips on his and he closed his eyes. Savouring the dream. How her tongue played with his and her teeth grazing his tongue and lips which felt really unfamiliar.

All of a sudden he jerked his eyes open and pushed Trudy away.

"What are you doing?"

"You are the most attractive man I have seen in a long time, soldier boy!" She moved closer again, kneeling in front of him and putting both of her hands onto each of his shoulders.

"Trudy, I have a girlfriend!" He put his hands onto her shoulders as well in order to keep her away from him. But she straddled one of his legs and wiggled her hips.

"Not yet, when you think about it…" She whispered seductively with her knee moving up and down his inner thigh. "Not in this time, soldier boy."

Becker's blood heated up and he drew in a sharp breath, but the next second he clenched his jaw and pushed Trudy backwards, so she fell onto the ground.

"No!" Becker got up with the help of his stick. "Stay the hell away from me!" He limped away.

Trudy's laughter sounded dirty. "I hope she appreciates how lucky she is, soldier boy!" Becker didn't respond. Anger boiled up inside of him.

"You know where to find me." Trudy yelled.

How the hell could this have happened!?

Jess, please forgive me!

* * *

><p>The anomaly alarm went off but before Jess could locate it, it had already ceased again.<p>

She frowned.

"Jess, what is it?" Matt asked jogging through the ops room towards her.

"I don't know. It seemed to just have closed again. This is odd." She opened a communication threat to reach Connor who was still experimenting with anomalies. "Connor, did you open another anomaly?" He answered with a simple: "No."

She just shrugged running a test. "I guess we're lucky!"

"That means we can call it a day!" Matt said looking forward to his evening alone with his girlfriend.

"That's good to hear!" Danny said approaching them.

Both men watched Jess typing away on her keyboard but every test she ran was negative.

No anomaly.

"All right!" Danny stretched himself. "So, you ready Jess? I'll be your escort tonight, if you don't mind. Abby has to do her hair, nails, shave her legs or whatever!"

"Now, don't be mean!" She grabbed her bag from under the table.

"Have fun!" Matt said.

"You too!" Danny grinned.

* * *

><p>It was like some unreal dream, where you just left reality for a couple of hours.<p>

Abby, Connor, Jess and Danny went to a pub first and then to a club to dance the night away.

The music was loud, the light low and the atmosphere was boiling. That night swallowed everyone, no matter what their problems were. People met without knowing who they were and it didn't matter. Right here they were all equal. Some drunk, some sober. Sadness, happiness and melancholy mingled and became a sort of neutral indifference.

The hours flew by.

But after some time as reality caught up again it was even harder to face it again.

Danny drove Jess home in the middle of the night.

As he stopped in front of her flat Jess stalled playing with the hem of her shirt.

"Jess? Are you okay?"

Her eyes were fixed on her fingers as if they had to succeed in a very important task, but then the words just rushed out of her:

"Well, Danny, would you mind sleeping over? On my couch, I mean? It is really comfortable and I just don't want to be alone."

Danny smiled at her mildly. "Sure. That's no problem." With his job he always had a bag of spare clothes in the car.

"Thank you." Jess mumbled, although she felt a little embarrassed, but the thought of entering the empty place was too creepy. Especially after this evening where she could let go for some time, she already knew she would never find any sleep.

Upstairs, Jess switched the light on in her flat.

Last time Danny had been here the flat had looked homey. Just like most of the homes do when someone is really living in them. There had been books lying around, CDs, newspapers, maybe a laptop or even a glass or a cup or chocolate. The normal everyday things one used.

As he entered now he was surprised to see how tidy the flat looked. Of course it had never been messy, but right now it looked rather like a model for a real estate business.

"Did you just have your cleaning day?" He raised his eyebrows as his own reflection looked back at him in the sink.

Jess looked away embarrassed. Danny supported a hand on the counter while he put the other one onto his hip.

He stared at her in silence.

"I just don't sleep much lately." She admitted avoiding his glance.

"I can see that!" He said making a flourishing gesture with his hand indicating her flat. "And I bet Becker's flat has never looked cleaner as well."

She pursed her lips while she smoothed some creases in the table cloth.

Danny sighed. "I am not blaming you."

The corners of her lips twitched. "I know." She sighed. There was still this feeling of embarrassment. She felt small and then again angry about the fact that she was this dependent on Becker. She wanted to be strong and brave, but especially the ignorance and the lonely nights made it hard for her to keep her act together at home, while at work she managed to keep her head up high.

"We should get to bed. It's late." She said quietly. "I'll get you a pillow and blanket."

She walked away to fetch them.

Before she went to bed herself Danny patted her arm. "Try to get some sleep."

She nodded. "Sleep well."

* * *

><p>Of course Jess hadn't slept much. She was up at six and made herself a tea. Since there was no wall between her kitchen and living room she was as quiet as possible, because Danny was still snoring on her couch.<p>

She just scanned through a newspaper on the table and blew her tea as the doorbell rang. Her head jerked to the door.

Danny grunted and groaned opening his eyes sleepily. Jess frowned and put the mug down onto the table wondering who this could be so early in the morning.

Danny lifted his head but let it fall back again rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

Jess was already in the hallway walking to the door to open it.

She pushed the handle down and pulled the door open.

A gasp escaped her and she quickly wanted to shut it again, but Ethan's foot was faster.

He pushed the door open so it hit the wall.

Jess covered her mouth with her hands and made a step backwards.

Ethan's cold eyes gleamed at her menacingly.

* * *

><p><em>As always: Thanks for reading!=)<em>


	35. Chapter 35

_Because of the mean cliffhanger I didn't want to make you wait too long since I already had this chapter done=)_

_So here it it:_

* * *

><p>"Hello Jessica." He stepped into the flat, but whenever he took a step forwards Jess took one backwards.<p>

"Missed me?"

Terror and panic tied her body up. She started trembling and stopped breathing.

Don't trip! Don't trip! Don't trip!

She thought over and over again trying to ignore that her knees felt like jelly.

Ethan came steadily closer.

Her eyes were wide open and started watering. The shock of seeing him again after everything that had happened was worse than she had ever imagined.

The closest escape route…she thought…where was the closest exit?

Ethan grinned eerily as if he could read her thoughts he blocked the door entirely.

Jess's throat escaped a whine as she struggled to get air into her lungs past the lump in her throat.

She kept stepping backwards further down her hallway and into the living room.

Her eyes were fixed on her nightmare's face.

"How have you been?" He asked creepily calmly, just as if they were best friends.

Goosebumps raced down Jessica's spine. Her knees buckled but she clenched her teeth to fight for keeping herself together.

As she walked through the living room door she suddenly noticed a movement in the corner of her eyes. Startled they flickered to the right so Ethan noticed her distraction. He turned to his left and surprise washed over his face as he saw Danny standing next to the door.

"What are you doing here?"

"Surprise!" Danny said and knocked him out with a pan he had grabbed from the stove before.

As Ethan tumbled unconsciously to the floor, Jess allowed a sob to escape her throat, though she pressed her hands onto her mouth to stifle the sound.

For a moment they watched if Ethan was really unconscious when Danny pulled Jess into his side. She buried her face into his chest and started crying.

"It's okay. It's okay." He stroked her back.

Jess took a deep breath and let the shock wear off. Danny looked into her face. "You're okay?"

She sniffed another time but nodded, balling her hands into tight fists.

"Good, now we need tie wraps." H spoke quietly and slowly.

"Under the sink." Jess mumbled not moving, but starring at Ethan, afraid that he would stir any minute.

"I'll get them and you'll call Matt, okay?"

Jess nodded another shower racing down her spine.

What would have happened if Danny hadn't been here?

* * *

><p>Matt and Emily had picked Jess up immediately because she would rather not ride in the same car as Ethan. Every so often the tears just escaped her eyes again and again for no obvious reason.<p>

"I can't stop crying." She apologised trying to smile and wiping more fresh tears away.

Emily rode in the backseat with her while Matt was slowly following Danny to the A.R.C.

"That's just the shock, Jess." He said. "You'll be fine."

But suddenly another wave of tears hit her. "He's dead, isn't he? Becker?"

"No, Jess! No!" Matt said.

"There is no evidence for that! You mustn't think that!" Emily agreed. She gave her a hug trying to comfort her as well as she could.

"But where is he?" Jess sobbed burying her face in her hands.

"We'll find out!" Matt drove through the gates of the A.R.C.

* * *

><p>They had brought Ethan into an interrogation room and waited for him to wake up, watching him through a one side mirror.<p>

"Well, done Quinn!" Matt said, but Danny just shrugged. They were waiting for quite some time now.

"Yep, I gotta get myself a pan like yours, Jess!" Connor joked. Abby sighed, but didn't say anything.

The corner's of Jess's lips twitched, but no more. She was starring at Ethan, hugging herself, as if she was afraid to fall apart otherwise. Her mind was merely focused on Becker now. She had a bad feeling in her stomach and it tore at her guts as if they were about to explode. She wanted to do something, yell, scream, run, but then again she felt too weak to move.

James Lester entered the room: "Is the sleeping beauty still asleep?"

"Waiting for her Prince Charming to kiss her awake." Connor went on and received more than one annoyed look.

"Guys, he's stirring!" Abby observed.

Ethan was tied to a chair and slowly raised his head now.

* * *

><p>Being team leader Matt was to make the interrogation.<p>

He sat down opposite of Ethan.

"Ethan."

The man didn't reply.

"Where is Captain Becker?"

Jess jerked behind the glass as Matt asked the question, but Ethan showed no concern, just smugness:

"Oh, so you decided to jump right into this, didn't you?"

"I don't like to waste time with small talk." Matt countered.

"Right."

"So? Where is he?"

Ethan stared at Matt for a while. "I don't know."

Jess bit down on her trembling lip.

"He's lying." Abby hissed.

"I'll ask you again: Where is Captain Becker?" Matt stared him down.

"I don't know."

"Did he escape?"

Ethan shrugged.

"Where did you take him?"

He shook his head again.

"What's he playing at?" Lester asked.

"Maybe he's not playing." Emily mumbled. "I don't think he is lying."

"He has to!" Danny interjected.

"Then why did you take Becker in the first place?" Matt's voice was calm, but you still noticed his frustration.

No answer.

"Okay another question: Who are you working with?"

Ethan laughed: "I would never trust anyone but myself!"

* * *

><p>The night fell and Becker had spent the day knitting fishing nets with Jack. Sally had spent some time with them, pestering Becker with lots of questions about the future.<p>

At dinner Max addressed Becker.

"I can tell you that we will help you get home. Some were against it, because they don't want to take the risk, but then again we have managed before and we can't possibly let you go in there, because that would probably be the greater risk."

"But…"

"Becker, you can hardly walk! What if you have to fight or flee?"

He gnawed his teeth looking at his leg knowing that Max was right, but he didn't want to admit it.

"What's your plan?" he asked instead.

"We have someone on the inside. Tomorrow night he'll wake Ethan up because some of us will distract the camp and send them down a wrong track. Ethan will leave a guard of course, but we'll send either Marc or Jared to sneak your thing out, pretending that Ethan had asked for it, of course we have to make sure he doesn't take it with him in the first place."

"Marc or Jared? How?" Becker couldn't follow his train of thought. He looked around to search for Marc, but couldn't spot him.

As if on cue a man walked out of the dark forest: "So, what did I miss?"

"Ah." Max exclaimed. "Becker, this is Jared." He motioned to the man.

Becker's eyes widened as the fire cast its glow at him so he could make out his face.

"Twins!" He mumbled.

"Aye." Jared replied and sat down next to him. "We swap our places frequently but Ethan has no idea."

"That's brilliant!" Becker exclaimed. Jared grinned at him.

"What is he doing right now?" Max asked.

"Well, they're discussing where to search for us next."

* * *

><p>"What's he doing?" Danny asked stepping next to Emily who had been watching Ethan for a while now.<p>

"Just starring into thin air for one or two hours now. He wanted to see you."

"I know. I don't want to talk to him."

"I think the anomaly detector didn't have a glitch this morning." Emily said.

"You think he came through an anomaly?"

"Well, I have been thinking and the only idea I came up with was that: What if he had something that could open and close anomalies? It would explain how he and Becker escaped."

"Seriously?" Danny wasn't convinced.

Emily rolled her necklace between her fingertips squinting at the man behind the glass.

"What is it?" Danny asked.

"I don't know." She shook her head. "Just something he said… This is all so weird. Don't you think?"

"He's lying!"

"That's the thing! I don't think he is!"

"But that wouldn't make sense!"

"I know! And that's eating me!"

Danny crossed his arms over his chest.

"He didn't have anything with him, did he?" Emily asked.

"No, nothing." Danny answered. "Has he said why he came after Jess?"

"No. Maybe because Becker escaped him." Danny suggested.

"But then where is he? How should Ethan let him know that he got Jess again?"

"I don't know! I wish I knew!"

"What if Matt was right? About Becker I mean?" Emily asked slowly.

Danny sighed rubbing his tired face and letting the thought sink in for a while, but then he shook his head vigorously. "If that was true, he would have already boasted about it, don't you think?"

"Probably, yes. …He might have just wanted to kill Jess, out of vengeance."Emily suggested.

Danny drew a sharp frustrated breath.

They were missing out on one small detail and he had to figure out what it was!

* * *

><p>Becker couldn't sleep that night. One more day! He thought!<p>

According to plan he would be home in a little more than 48 hours!

It depended on the tribe of course and that was the worst part of it!

His fate wasn't in his hands anymore and the lack of control made him nervous.

* * *

><p><em>Thanks for reading=)<em>


	36. Chapter 36

_This chapter turned out to be longer than I thought=)_

_Have fun!_

* * *

><p>Jess entered her flat with two heavy shopping bags in her hands.<p>

Her keys made a loud metallic sound as they hit the shelf that stood at one side of the hallway.

As she stood there in the middle of the empty and silent hallway she thought about how nice it would be to have a cat. Just someone who would wait for her and greet her when she came home from a long exhausting day.

Her heels clicked on the floor as she walked into the kitchen.

But then again who would take care of it when she had to work late?

With a sad sigh she realised just how lonely she felt and figured that it was probably the reason why she had stayed so late at the ARC every evening over these last few weeks.

She started putting the food into the fridge.

Maybe a neighbour would take care of her pet until she came home…

But she quickly dropped that idea again, because she wouldn't trust anyone anymore besides her colleagues and friends.

Not after everything that had happened.

The bags rustled loudly in the prevailing silence as Jess stuffed them under the sink. It was already late and she hadn't eaten anything today, but was she hungry?

Undecidedly she opened the fridge to look at the food. Merely a few seconds later she closed it again, no, she wasn't hungry.

Longingly she stared out of the window and decided that the TV might chase the loneliness away, even though she knew that it was a poor attempt to forget about the one she really wanted to have near her right now.

* * *

><p>Becker didn't trust the silence that was lingering like a thick fog in the air above the camp. It was depressing and sat on his chest like a big stone that made it harder to breathe and on top of that he kept running into Trudy over and over again.<p>

"Soldier Boy!" With her salacious gazes she practically undressed him right there all over again.

Becker was sick of it and about to turn around again.

"Oh come on, don't give me that. You can hardly blame me for feeling attracted to you, Captain." There was a husky seductive undertone in her voice.

Why couldn't she just leave him alone?

"Just leave it, okay?" He snapped.

Suddenly she was next to him.

"Just a question: What if you can't go back? What if they won't find what you are looking for?"

"I'll find another way then!" He barked and just wanted to get away from her, but Trudy was obstinate.

"There might not be one."

"There's always a way! Now leave me alone!"

Trudy pulled a face starring after him.

* * *

><p>"Damn it!" Connor threw the piece he was working on onto the table and left his lab without looking back. He went straight over to Abby who was just feeding Rex with some Grasshoppers.<p>

"Hey!" She greeted him. Connor just hugged her wordlessly and Abby frowned, but was quite amused in some way.

"Er, Connor?"

"It's not working!" He complained almost sounding like a frustrated child. Abby suppressed a chuckle and rubbed over his back.

"Connor?"

"Hm?"

"You're heavy!"

"Oh, sorry." He hadn't noticed just how much he had leaned onto Abby. "I will never figure out how to make it work which means we can never get Becker back and how can I ever face Jess again? There won't be anyone to tease anymore. And we can't stop Ethan and…"

"Connor!" Abby's voice was firm but calm. "Why don't you get yourself a coffee and try again later?" Connor wrinkled his nose. "I am sure you will figure it out."

"Can I have a kiss first?" He asked warily.

Abby smiled and placed a soft kiss onto his lips, while she caressed his cheek. "Feeling better?"

"Not really. Maybe…if…another one?"

"Connor!"

"Okay, okay, see you later!" He said sounding disappointed.

Abby chuckled. "I am all yours tonight if you solve your problem."

He paused. "Now that's a motivation!" And grinned.

* * *

><p>"Lester, can I talk to you for a minute?" Matt asked as he entered the boss's office. Lester motioned to him to take a seat.<p>

"What about?"

"Prospero."

"Ah, that would have been my guess." Lester rubbed his chin starring at Matt who went on:

"So? Don't you think it's odd that they just burn down their bridges and move all their stuff to the headquarters?"

"Of course it is!" Lester had this harsh tone in his voice again. "But you can be certain that they won't give anything away. The official statement is that they need more space and better equipment! And of course they don't want to interfere with our work and certainly don't want us to pry around in their labs." He threw a knowing gaze at the team leader.

"There are rumours that they found something." Matt simply replied.

"Which would be even more concerning. I don't trust those morons for an inch!"

"Yeah, me too. So, do we agree that we should keep an eye on them?"

"Well, of course I have to tell you that Prospero is not our business. But well…I can't tell you what to do with your free time." Lester stared into Matt's eyes and the man nodded getting the hint.

"Of course, I understand that we should mind our own business…" He stressed the word "should" and Lester nodded satisfied and leaned backwards.  
>"What about this Ethan character?"<p>

"Not giving anything away. He's being very cryptic."

Lester sighed. "Which means we still have no idea what happened to Becker."

"No, Sir."

"Great!" Lester said sarcastically. "Well, keep trying."

"Of course." Matt stood up in order to leave but before he could reach the door Lester called him back: "Anderson, between the two of us: How high do you think are his chances?"

"Between the two of us…" Matt said slowly. "We might have to expect the worst."

That moment it knocked and Jess stuck her head into the room.

"Sorry, to disturb you. Lester, there is something you have to sign, because of Prospero."

"Come in Jess. Matt, that's all for now, thank you."

Matt nodded and left the room.

Poor Jess. It would crush her.

* * *

><p>Becker tried to keep himself busy. The group who would invade Ethan's camp had left just an hour ago, but to Becker it already felt like an eternity.<p>

"Hey Becker." Sally greeted him as she sat down next to him to keep him company. She carried six rabbit like creatures on strings over her shoulder and dropped them in front of her onto the ground.

"Have you ever disembowelled an animal?"

"Er, no."

"Wanna help me?" She asked far too cheerily offering him a knife.

"Sure."

"Great! I'll show you what to do! Uhm…and…do you mind if I asked you more question about your time? Everyone tells me not to bother you, but I find it so fascinating!"

Becker actually smiled at the bubbly girl.

"I don't mind. What do you want to know?"

Her eyes sparkled and he felt quite comfortable with her, maybe because she reminded him so much of someone else…

"Great! Er, the animal, you have to remove the fur, like this…yes…that's it!" She showed him how to do it. "So, your time must be pretty easy, right? You can fly, you don't have to walk and you can even communicate over long distances, can't you?"

Becker chuckled. "Easy is not the word I would use, but it's pretty comfortable that's true."

"But what isn't easy about it? You don't even have to hunt, have you?"

"No, well, you see, we have different problems, mainly moral and ethnic ones, concerning other people or the environment. It's a very technical time, but not all of these inventions are good. Most of them bear a lot of disadvantages."

Sally thought about it for a while. "I am not sure if I understand that."

"Yeah, it's quite complex. I guess you would have to see it, to really understand it. I don't even know where to start explaining."

She nodded. "I guess so. …Can you take me?" The question just slipped out of her. Becker looked at her and hesitated before he answered. "Well, I am not sure if my time would be the right place for you."

"But I want to see it! All the magic you can do!"

"Magic?"

"It does sound like magic! All the things you can do! I mean, do you know how all those inventions work?"

"Well, no I don't. They just work."

"See, to me that does sound magical!"

In a long time Becker hadn't laughed like this.

"Don't mock me!" Sally said suddenly insecure.

"Sorry, I am not mocking you. It's just…you remind me of a good friend of mine and sometimes I wish I could see the world through your eyes."

Sally focused on the animals again. "Now you have to cut the stomach open and pull the organs out, but don't rip them apart! We can use all of them for something." But just as quickly she changed the topic again. "What I don't really understand is: You have technology for everything, but why do humans still extinct?"

"What do you mean?" Becker frowned.

"Jared said that Ethan took him and a bunch of others to the future to look for whatever and there was no one left, but some creepy creatures."

That was the moment when Becker realised why Jess hadn't been there, why no one had been there. Matt had been right all along. There was no future. Not for humans anyway…but why?

Where did those ugly future predators suddenly come from?

"Becker?"

He shook his head. "Sorry, uhm, I have no idea…"

* * *

><p>It was already dark and everyone had left except for Jess who was collecting sheets of papers, sorting files, running security checks, everything that would keep her busy.<p>

"Jessica, what are you still doing here?" A voice suddenly said and Jess turned around in her chair.

"Hi Julian! I am er…doing security stuff." As she realised that she had used the same excuse Becker had once before she could have kicked herself. She decided to quickly change the subject. "What about you? Do you take the nightshift?"

"Yes, I do. You look tired. Shouldn't you go home?"

"Oh, I will in a minute." She lied.

* * *

><p>Abby woke Jess up in the morning, because she had fallen asleep at the ADD.<p>

"Jess." She gently shook her shoulder.

Jess jerked. "What? Is it Becker?"

"No, honey. You've fallen asleep at the ADD." The blond woman stroked a strand of hair out of the younger ones face.

"Oh…" Jess looked around. "Has Lester seen it?"

"No." Abby shook her head, her eyes gleaming with sorrow.

Jess sighed in relief and touched her messy hair, trying to figure out how great the damage was.

"Why don't you take a shower and change while I'll get some breakfast?"

Jess smiled at Abby. "Thanks, Abby."

"Sure."

Jess put on a brave smile and walked out of the room with her head held high, but Abby stared after Jess with a sad look on her face.

* * *

><p>Becker had spent the whole night waiting and worrying expectantly at the fire place. It was no use he couldn't take his mind off the mission, not for a mere second.<p>

Tiredly he rubbed over his face. Every bone and muscle in his body was sour and ached.

By now it must have been early morning, but no one had returned since the departure.

Something had surely gone wrong!

Becker broke the stick in his hand in two and threw it into the hungry flames.

Slowly the sky was already becoming brighter and soon the sun would rise. He stared into the whispering flames and tried to swallow the lump in his throat.

He was so tired and exhausted.

Sally walked up to him yawning loudly.

"You're still sitting here? Did you sleep?"

Becker shook his head.

"They aren't back yet, are they?"

"No."

"Don't worry! They've done it lots of times, but they have to wait for the right moment."

"Yeah." Becker answered curtly.

"Look who is still here!" Trudy mocked joining them. "I told you so."

"Shut up, Trudy!" Sally snapped.

Trudy raised her eyebrows at her and scoffed. "Excuse me? Are you telling me what to do?"

"He's miserable enough! Don't you think?"

"Oooooh, sorry! I never wanted to hurt ones feelings…"

"This is so you!" Sally yelled. "You…"

"Hey!" Becker shouted and then said in a calm menacing voice. "I don't want you to attract any creatures and I certainly don't want to hear you two screaming at each other, okay? So both of you: shut the fucking hell up!"

Both women were surprised that Becker had said anything, so they really became quiet, rather out of surprise than obedience but the result was the same.

Time went by and the sun rose higher and higher above the tree tops, but then Jack came out of the forest.

Becker stood up even though his leg was hurting.

He stared with wide eyes at the young man whose eyes stared back at him out of a muddy face.

Becker's heart beat a mile a minute as he saw the serious features.

Say something, he thought, anything!

Becker's mouth was dry and he didn't think he could make any sound. His tongue was too heavy and he could only wait for Jack to speak.

Why didn't he say anything? Why was he just standing there?

He wanted to scream at him, but just as he found his ability to move again other people followed and Jack started to grin.

"Ready to go home, Captain?"

* * *

><p><em>Almost there!;)<em>

_I have to look over the next chapter once more, but it should be up soon.=)_

_Thanks for reading!_


	37. Chapter 37

_Hey, hey=)_

_I am really happy to share this with you now and for Becker and Jess's sake, I won't cut their scene in two, but post two chapters at once tonight.=)_

* * *

><p>It turned out that nothing had gone wrong. They had managed to get in as Ethan and most of his men went on another search party. Marc had gone with Ethan, but just before they had started he had nicked the anomaly device out of his pocket and put it back onto his table. While they were gone Jared had sneaked in to get the device, if someone had spotted him he would have just told them that he was to get Ethan's device, but luckily no one had noticed him, so he had the perfect alibi.<p>

"Do you know how to use this?" Max asked as he handed Becker the device.

The soldier turned the device over and over in his hands, shaking his head, but never the less his eyes held a spark of happiness in them.

"I'll figure out how it works." He held it into his hands like it was the most precious thing in the world. His lifeline, after all it was his ticket home. "Thank you so much!" Becker said quietly.

Max shrugged: "If you can save the future and stop Ethan it was worth it."

Becker saluted: "I will."

"Becker, can't I come with you?" Sally asked.

He looked at her. "I don't think my time would be the right place for you."

"I want to see it! Please!"

Becker stared at her and sighed. "No, sorry."

"Please!" Sally begged.

"Sally, let him alone!" The woman who had scolded her earlier said.

Sally pouted. "But…"

"It is no place for a girl like you!" Jared said, "Believe me!", and Becker agreed:  
>"It really isn't. It's better if you stay here!" He turned around to say goodbye to everyone, and also because he didn't want to see Sally like that, how defiant she looked at him with her arms crossed over her chest.<p>

"Here I think you might need this." Marc said and handed him a small wooden box.

Becker stared at it first and then at the soldier. He could hardly believe it and just managed to mumble a small: "Thanks."

Marc just nodded before he walked away. Becker quickly put the small box into his pocket and turned the device on with shaking hands. It had to work!

A display flashed on and he pressed a few buttons to figure out what to do.

"Wow." Sally mouthed and despite her sad expression earlier the curiosity took hold of her again.

He frowned at the display, when he suddenly noticed an engraving at the bottom of it:

_C. Temple_

Smirking, he shook his head.

He pressed some buttons until he had to type in some coordinates. He wasn't sure where the anomaly would spit him out, but he was sure that it would be somewhere in England. Then the date: April 2013.

"Okay, this should do the trick. I hope."

Becker's heart beat pounded loudly in his ears. It was like everyone held their breaths waiting for something to happen.

Captain Becker pressed a button and as before a red laser appeared and formed an anomaly.

"Yes!" Becker rejoiced, forgetting the people around him.

The pulsing golden light grew and grew, until it had the right size.

Everyone stared at it, some with fear, some with curiosity.

Full of anticipation Becker stepped through it.

* * *

><p>It was raining cats and dogs.<p>

The man stepped into a landscape of bushes and rocks. It looked wild and Becker's heart fell.

Oh no!

The rain was heavy and cold.

Worriedly he looked around. It was twilight but still bright enough for him to see that there was nothing there but a wild uninhabited landscape.

Pain pounded in Becker's leg that he tried to ignore.

It sounded almost like a hiss as the anomaly disappeared, but maybe he had just imagined that.

"Are we in the right time?"

Becker jumped, because he hadn't noticed Sally appearing next to him: "What the hell!? Sally! How did you…"

"Please, don't be mad! I secretly followed you."

"You can't stay here! I told you that!" He squinted through the rain.

"But why? Please let me stay!"

"Sally!"

"The anomaly is gone anyway!"

Becker was angry at her. With clenched teeth he started fiddling around with the device again to open another anomaly and send the girl back again, but it just made a beeping sound and displayed the icon of a low battery.

"Damn!" He cursed. A 16 year old girl with her background. She would have to go to school, get to know all the technologies, what about friends at her age? No one was allowed to know of their work and who was to take care of her?

Suddenly Sally shrieked and everything inside Becker went on alert. The rain was too loud to let them hear anything else, but there were two lights coming closer and rushing past about 500 m from them.

Relief washed over Becker and he relaxed rubbing his hands threw his wet hair.

"We are definitely in the right century!" He stated with a grin.

"How do you know?"

"You've just seen your first car, built in 2010."

"That was a car?" Her eyes were wide as she tried to watch out for it even though it had already disappeared around the next corner.

"Yep." Becker looked at the device again and tried to open another anomaly despite the low battery.

Sally noticed what he was trying to do: "No! Please Becker! I want to stay!"

Becker sighed as the device died completely. He knew he would regret this, but then again he could always send her back later.

"You must have a lucky star tonight. Come on!"

Smilingly Sally followed him to the spot where the car had driven past.

Becker tried not to put too much pressure onto his bad leg while they followed the road into the direction in which the car had driven. It was his only hope.

Both of them were shivering in the cold icy rain.

"How long do we have to walk?" Sally asked after a while

"I don't know. I don't even know where we are!" Becker snapped frustrated. He was in pain, he was cold and all he wanted was to get home. He didn't even know if it was the right year!

After every corner he lost a little more hope. At least Sally was quiet. She had noticed that it was better not to bother him. This time was after all much less magical than she had imagined.

But suddenly after another turn lights came into sight. A village!

Becker took the girl's hand and dragged her faster, besides his now numb leg. "Come on!"

Sally's eyes widened as she saw the lights and houses.

She tightened her grasp on Becker's hand.

"No need to be afraid. "He said.

The place name sign on one side of the road placed a grin on his face. Cornwall! Thank god!

After a quick orientation he headed straight for a Pub.

The local people watched them curiously and Becker sighed.

Great, small town people were always suspicious.

"Excuse me?" He went for the bartender, an old grumpy looking man who cleaned some glasses. Every eye was on them and followed every move they made.

The strange dirty man with the scared looking girl. Becker knew how this must look like, so he tried to be extra polite and as talk active as he could:

"Sorry, my sister and I had a car accident further down the road and my mobile died, so we had to walk here and I wondered if I could please call a relative who'd pick us up?"

The man screwed his eyes shut and pursed his lips while his look wandered from Becker to the girl. Becker tried to make an innocent face patiently waiting for an answer.

An old lady who had heard this, probably his wife walked up to him.

"Of course, that's no problem! Follow me." She led them through a door and into the kitchen of the pub. "Poor girl, she is drenched! What is your name darling?"

"Sally." She whispered.

"Sally, would you like a hot chocolate?" Sally was too shocked to answer and despite this she didn't even know what the woman was talking about.

Becker quickly reacted. "You must excuse her she's still a little shocked and very tired. It has been a long day for us."

"Then she has to get some chocolate and a tea for you I guess? Where did you say you were from?"

And here we go, Becker thought. "Well, we live in London and we came down here for the holidays."

"Oh yes, of course. The phone is over there." She pointed to a door that led to a short hallway. Becker motioned for Sally to stay there on a stool.

"Thank you." The closer he came to the receiver the louder his heart beat. His hands trembled slightly as he took the receiver and checked the display.

His heart leaped.

02.04.2013.

Yes!

He knew the numbers of his colleagues by heart which came in very handy now.

Beep. He just wanted to hear her voice.

Beep. Come on pick up.

Beep. His heart pounded faster.

Beep. "This is Jess, I am currently not available please leave a message after the…"

He hung up again, because he didn't want to leave a message.

Becker dialled again.

"Anderson."

"Matt! It's Becker!"

"Becker? What the…You're back!?"

"Yeah, I need someone to pick me up!"

"Where the hell are you?"

"Cornwall. Just check the last anomaly feed, I am in the local pub in the village near there, but make sure you have an extra seat, because I brought a friend."

"Well, I'll send the helicopter." Matt answered. He just watched Jess walking past. "Hey, do you want to surprise her or should I just hand the phone over?"

"Is she there? Give her the phone!" He couldn't wait to talk to her again.

"All right. Talk to you later! –Jess! Wait!" She stopped to turn around. Matt jogged after her and handed her his phone: "There is someone who would like to talk to you." He winked which made Jess frown, but she still took the phone and answered:

"Hello?"

"Jess!" There was silence before her small voice asked: "Becker?"

"Yes, Jess! I am back!"

She could hardly believe it and needed some seconds to let the message sink in before she practically yelled: "Oh my god! Becker you are back! Where are you? Are you okay? Are you hurt?"

"I am somewhere in Cornwall. Don't worry I am fine!" He noticed the old woman looking round the corner. From his position he could see Sally sitting at a table trying to smile as the Inn-keeper handed her a steaming mug.

"Listen, I have to go, but I'll see you in a few hours, okay?"

Jess wiped a tear away: "Yes! Yes, I'll see you then!"

Becker smiled. "Bye."

He walked back into the kitchen.

"A colleague is going to pick us up."

About two hours later the bartender came into the kitchen where Becker had tried to keep the conversation with the inn keeper going. He had made up lots of stories about his life and apparently that of his assumed little sister Sally. It took all his ability of eloquent speaking to manage, but the woman didn't suspect a thing and Sally was very impressed.

"There is someone looking for you." The bartender stuck his head through the door.

Becker stood up immediately and followed him back into the front room.

He saw the black soldier first and then Matt.

"Matt!" He called out with a smile in his voice.

"Becker! It's really go to see you, mate!"

"It's good to be home!" Matt grabbed Becker's hand and patted his shoulder.

The other people watched them confused, probably because to them the strange words of these strange men didn't make any sense.

"Any injuries?"

Becker shook his head. "Nothing that can't wait." He noticed Matt glancing over his shoulder so he turned around and saw Sally standing a mere metre behind him.

"Oh, right. Matt this is Sally. Sally, my friend Matt!"

"It's nice to meet you!" Matt said and Sally just smiled coyly.

They thanked the inn keeper and left the pub.

Outside Matt held Becker back: "Geez, Becker, how old is she?" He whispered. "Why is she here?"

"Can we talk about that later?" Becker growled.

The chopper wasn't far away for it was a rather remote area this village had been the only one near the last anomaly feed. As they reached it Becker said: "Sally, I guess this is your big day, because we're going to fly home."

"Fly!?" Her eyes lit up. "Really!? Oh my goodness!"

"So, did I miss much?" Becker asked Matt as they waited for the helicopter to take off.

It was pitch black outside by now but still raining cats and dogs outside.

"Well…I'll tell you later!" Matt answered and shot Becker a look. The soldier raised his eyebrows.

The rotor blades started spinning and it became too loud to talk anyway.

The flight felt like an eternity to Becker.

* * *

><p>The team at the ARC waited for the helicopter to return to bring their lost member home.<p>

Jess paced impatiently in front of the windows of the landing place.

"Jess, sit down! They won't be here any sooner with or without you pacing!" Danny complained.

"I know." Jess nibbled at her bottom lip starring into the sky.

"There, there, there!" Connor suddenly yelled causing everyone to rush over to the window.

And indeed.

Lights appeared on the grey horizon.

Jess's heart sped up and she walked to the door that would open automatically open after the pilot had landed.

The helicopter came down gently.

The skid touched ground and the rotor blades slowed down.

Its doors opened at the same time as the glass door in front of Jess.

Ignoring the rain, she started running towards the helicopter.

* * *

><p><em>Guys, thank you so much for reading, I never thought someone would actually stay with me and keep reading.=)<em>

_At some point I thought this wasn't that good, but I guess some of you do like it after all, so thanks!_


	38. Chapter 38

Matt climbed out first with Becker closely after him.

He heard the heels' sound on the concrete before he could even see her.

His feet had hardly hit the ground, but something in his stomach already made a back flip as he saw her. A burning sensation settled down in his guts as she jumped into his arms burying her face in the crook of his neck.

Ignoring the pain in his body and basically everything else around, he hugged her back. He pressed her against him, just starting to notice how much he had missed her body melting into his.

Becker put his hands on both sides of her face to hold her back so he could look at her properly.

Her makeup was smudged like the last time they had seen each other he noticed sorely, but this time she smiled, although tears were running down her cheeks, or was it just the rain?

"Are you okay?" Becker asked and started to look her up and down as if he could find any injuries that way. Jess could just nod because her throat felt swollen.

She just knew that she never wanted to let go of him again.

"Come on, you are already drenched!" With his arm around her shoulder Becker walked her over to the building.

* * *

><p>Everyone welcomed the Head of Security back with open arms.<p>

Abby and Emily hugged Becker, Danny patted him on the shoulder and bet on Connor to have a silly joke on his lips. "Action man, since when gets the villain the better of the hero? Not that I am not glad to have you back of course!"

"Connor." Becker said simply.

"Who's your friend?" Emily asked and nodded at Sally who stood near the door with a strange mixture of fear and excitement in her eyes.

"This is Sally. Don't be scared, come here." Sally stepped carefully closer while her eyes kept following everyone's movements. "She followed me because she wanted to see this." Becker gestured around.

"You have to tell us everything after you have dried." Abby said indicating Becker's wet clothes and he agreed.

"A hot shower would be brilliant!"

All of a sudden he looked around to search for Jess who was not next to him as he would have expected.

He discovered her standing a little off the group. Jess was hugging herself because the cold wet clothes were making her shiver now. She had watched the whole welcome-back-scene in silence. She simply needed this moment to herself to realise that it was not one of those dreams she had had over the last few weeks. The petite field coordinator had to let it sink in that her Becker really was back. It was hard to believe.

Concerned Becker turned to her. "Jess, are you okay?"

She nodded bravely, drinking in his sight: wet black hair, dirty streaks on his face, slightly torn uniform.

"Come on guys, we'll get coffee for everyone." Abby decided quickly and linked arms with Connor and Danny to drag them away.

"Yes, and we'll get you dry clothes, Sally, okay? Would you like to come with me?" Emily smiled at the girl who looked with insecure eyes at Becker, but he assured her that it was okay: "It's okay. Go with her. I'll catch up with you later." Sally nodded and followed Emily who talked in a friendly tone to the rather frightened girl. She guessed how she must have felt, having been in her shoes once.

Matt just silently followed his team.

* * *

><p>"Jess?"<p>

She wiped her face: "Sorry."

Becker limped over to her. "Your leg…are you hurt?" She just noticed his constitution now.

"Just a scratch." He shrugged it off.

"You'll have to have someone look at it." Jess said concerned.

"Of course." He stepped in front of her. "Are you sure, you're okay?" He gently brushed a wet strand of hair out of her face and his touch made a tear drop emerge her eye and goose bumps racing down her spine. Jess felt so silly, but she couldn't help it.

Becker chuckled. "Jess, why are you crying?"

Her voice broke: "You're really back, aren't you?"

He smiled and cupped her cheek: "Yes."

She held his eyes for a second before she pulled his head down to her to kiss him.

It was a soft kiss as if they had to get to know each other again. The soft brush against her lips, never the less, held so many memories in them that they quickly deepened the kiss. Their tongues met with a sparkling sensation and expectation. Becker held her close. The joy rushed through their veins, embracing every nerve that had been eagerly waiting for this moment.

* * *

><p>Lester interrupted the couple: "Do I really have to remind you that this is still a government facility!? And how the hell do you look like? I guess a shower would be appropriate and about the girl you brought, we'll talk about that later!"<p>

"Nice to see you too, Lester." Becker mumbled making Jess grin.

After a hot shower and a stop at the medical bay where Becker's wound got cleaned and sewn with ten stitches; and after he got some antibiotics the team met again.

They were all sitting down in the common room where they had recently put a small couch and matching easy chairs in a corner.

Not too surprisingly Becker had refused to occupy a sick room.

Sally was sleeping in one of them though. They had managed to convince her in letting a doctor examine her. She was fine, but she had been given a mild sedative so she would sleep soundly that night.

"So, where have you been?" Danny asked.

"You know we feared for the worst after…" Abby nudged Connor and hissed his name to make him shut up.

Becker's eyes swept over his friends faces. "After what?" Jess was sitting right next to him on the couch and started to fidget uneasily. He frowned as everyone avoided his eyes, everyone besides Matt, whose face was of course as calm and unreadable as ever.

"What did I miss?" He asked suspiciously, looking at Matt. "Matt?"

Matt considered his answer for a moment: "Well… after we have caught Ethan."

All eyes were on Becker now whose jaw dropped open in surprise. "What? When?"

"Two days ago."

"Impossible! He was there just this morning!"

"Are you sure?"

"Did you see him?"

"No, but he had to be there!" Becker said and then explained. "He took me to the past where a bunch of rebels saved me from him. They helped me to get back here." Not mentioning their trip to the future deliberately, he wanted to talk to Matt about it on his own.

Matt had noticed how Emily had stiffened next to him. She straightened herself to stare at Becker who stared right back at her.

She swallowed as tension grew thick between them.

"Could have been a trap, after all they let the girl…" Danny was interrupted by Emily:

"No, you can trust them." Now, the attention was shifting from Captain Becker to Emily Merchant. "I know them. I…I was part of them before…" She gestured around the room helplessly. Unnoticed by anyone Matt shifted his weight and leaned closer to Emily.

"And Sally followed me on her own account…" ,that's what I guess though, Becker added in his thoughts.

"How did he even take you there?" Jess asked. "I mean no anomaly opens up accidentally, especially not when you happen to need one."

Becker nodded. "Right." He pulled something out of his pocket. "Connor, I guess this is yours." Connor caught it clumsily as Becker threw it over. He turned it around in his hands examining it at first before recognition dawned. "But…what…where…how?" Connor stuttered.

"What is it?" Danny asked.

"Does it work?" Connor just ignored Quinn.

Becker nodded. "Yes."

Connor laughed and got this excited expression on his face that would compete with every child's one around Christmas time.

"I figured it out! I mean, I will figure it out…I am a genius!" Laughingly he pecked Abby on the cheek and turned the device around in his hands again and again looking at it from every angle.

"Is that…" Abby started.

"Yes! My anomaly creator I have been working on for weeks now!"

"So, Ethan could go anywhere to any time?" Jess asked.

"Pretty much." Becker answered.

"But he can't have done everything on his own." Jess mused.

"As far as I know he did." Becker replied.

Suddenly something snapped into place and Emily gasped. "He didn't!"

Everyone waited for an explanation. "That's what he meant earlier! He doesn't trust anyone but himself, that's what he said. Ethan is here locked up in a cell, but you said he was also there in the past with you…"

"He's from a different time!" Matt concluded.

"Okay, this is really creepy now!" Connor said.

"Is that possible?" Abby asked.

"Isn't it forbidden? Didn't we learn in Harry Potter 3 not to mess around with time?" Connor said.

Now everyone focused on the man from the future.

"Well, there are stories that you can meet yourself, but people who'd done it lost their minds and became paranoid."

"That is so creepy…meeting your future self…You would lose your whole time and space feeling wouldn't you? Always wondering where you actually were or are and where you would meet yourself again. You would lose yourself in it, wouldn't you? Not knowing who you are or where you are." Jess tried to grab a clear thought.

"That could change everything, couldn't it?" Abby said

"All reasons why we were instructed not to do it. If you change the past version of yourself, of course you change yourself and the future you. I have never seen nor experienced it, so don't ask me how it actually works or what will happen." Matt explained.

"I still don't get what this is all about." Connor complained.

Becker caught Matt's eyes than and looked away again quickly to tell him that he needed to talk to him.

No one said a word.

"Maybe we should all go home and sleep about it." Danny suggested. And on this everyone agreed.

On the way out Emily tugged at Becker's arm.

"Becker…did you meet Trudy?"

"Yes." Becker had just managed to forget about her and now just managed to suppress a groan.

"How is she?"

"Fine." He answered curtly.

"Did she…did you talk about me?"

"Yes and I am sorry to tell you, but she is pretty mad at you." Emily nodded.

"What happened?"

"Becker?" Jess called out.

"Another time." Emily said and quickly walked away.

* * *

><p>Becker didn't recognise his flat as they entered.<p>

"Oh…bloody…what happened here?"

He walked through the rooms while Jess followed sheepishly. Becker turned around to stare at her for an answer.

"So?"

Jess felt like a child caught by a parent.

"I just did a bit of cleaning." Her voice was quiet and she looked up from him under her lashes.

Becker raised his eyebrows. "A bit? This looks rather sterile."

Jess stared at the floor with her hands held behind her back before she walked passed him and over to a window. She bit her lip crossing her arms over her chest while she watched all the beautiful lights of London's skyline:

"Well…I have had quite some time lately…"

Becker smiled to himself. He let his gaze sweep over her back and down her slender legs to her lovely bright blue shoes, where his eyes stayed for some seconds. He took the sight of his girlfriend in. The term was still kind of new to him and he might not ever get used to it, but especially over these last few weeks he had learned that he wouldn't want to miss her anymore.

Becker strode over to her and put his arms around her from behind. His chin rested on top of her head and Jess closed her eyes to savour the moment.

Suddenly she felt more tired than ever, as all the emotions of these past few weeks left her small body and vanished into thin air.

The fear, sadness, anger, loneliness, anxiety, apprehension…

She leaned fully into him and Becker lowered his lips to her ear whispering to her:

"Does your flat look the same?"

"Don't mock me!" Jess pouted.

A low chuckle rumbled through his chest. Jess turned around to bury her face in his chest. Soothingly Becker caressed her back just getting a hunch of what Jess had gone through, but he was back and had no intention to leave her again.

"I have missed you." Becker noticed the tiredness in her voice and he was pretty tired himself.

It would be heavenly to lie down on a comfortable mattress. He kissed her hair.

"Come on, let's go to bed."

That night Jess woke up several times because of her usual nightmares, but every time she found herself kept warm in Becker's embrace and was able to go quickly back to sleep again.

The Head of Security himself slept like a stone. He didn't wake up once and he didn't even notice Jess's anxiety. Maybe it was because of the medication, maybe because he hadn't slept for weeks, but maybe it was just because he unconsciously felt Jess's lovely slender warm body next to him.  
>The smell of her skin and hair embraced him and kept him safe in his dreams.<p>

* * *

><p><em>There will be lots of more fluff of Jess and Becker in the next chapters.=)<em>

_I think they deserve it after this mess.^^_

_Thanks for reading!_


	39. Chapter 39

_A little bit of love, lots of jealousy, and even more love in the next chapter, which I'll either upload today or tomorrow=P_

* * *

><p>Light rays of sunlight sneaked through the curtains and kissed his face in the morning.<p>

His eyelids fluttered and the first thing he noticed was how warm and comfortable he was. A satisfied breath left his lungs and Jess snuggled up flat against his chest. He tightened his hold on her and smiled as a warm fuzzy feeling caressed his guts. In her sleep she looked so young and vulnerable.

Becker took his time to drink in the sight, the sight and feeling he missed more than he had thought, which he just realised now. Carefully he removed his arm from under her, so she wouldn't wake up. Although for a moment there he thought about waking her up because his loins tightened as his skin brushed over hers. But maybe they should take a little bit of time to get used to each other again.  
>He shook his head at himself. Some stupid thoughts!<p>

Never the less, he didn't dare to wake her up, for she had looked so exhausted yesterday Who knew if she had gotten any sleep over these past few weeks? So, despite his demanding body he stood up and let Jess sleep.

As he opened his wardrobe to retrieve fresh clothes beautiful bright colours captured his eyes.

After the first wave of surprise, he smirked over at Jess who mumbled something in her sleep. Becker had always minded when other people, former girlfriends, had left their stuff at his place, but strangely this time, he didn't mind at all. He shook his head again, how did this happen?

Jess was sneakier than he had thought.

After a shower, he decided to make pancakes and coffee for breakfast. How Connor and Abby survived one year on their own in the Cretaceous was a miracle to him. He had only been gone for some weeks, but that had been enough to make him realise how convenient this time was and how dependant mankind had become. The smell of the delicious food tickled in his nose and his mouth started watering.

"Becker?" Jess voice travelled through the flat with a light tinge of panic in it. As he was about to go and check on her, she stopped him in his tracks because she already rushed into the kitchen, searching the room with big eyes, like deer caught in headlights.

She visibly relaxed as she saw him.

"What's up? Are you okay?" Becker frowned and his voice sounded as concerned as hers.

She nodded and combed her hair with her hand. "For a moment there, I just thought…I…never mind." She put off, not wanting to admit that she had thought she had been dreaming his return.

"Coffee and pancakes?" Becker asked instead.

She returned his smile and nodded suddenly closing the distance between them in only to two long strides to give Becker a hug. She needed the physical contact to make sure he really was still there and she slightly wondered if she was always going to suffer from this fear of losing him again. Becker rubbed her back, guessing what kind of storm was raging inside of her. He held her close, longing for the touch as much as her.

She breathed in his scent before she forced herself to let go of Becker and sat down at the table.

The man put the last pancakes out of the pan and onto a plate before he sat down as well, saying: "So…Do you need a bigger wardrobe?"

Jess who was just taking a sip of coffee paused and put the mug down again.

Becker tried not to smile staring at her the way he used to when he was making fun of her. "Oh, I just noticed all the colours in my wardrobe."

There was a flicker of insecurity in her eyes.

"Well, I have been spending some time here recently, you know checking if everything was all right and…" Her voice became slightly louder. "Do you mind? I am sorry, I didn't want to upset you or suggest anything. It was just so practical, because I wouldn't have to go home again and fetch fresh clothes, after work I would just stop by and…"

"Jess!" He interrupted her still a serious look on his face, but admitting to himself that he had even missed her rambling. She looked at him apprehensive. And finally he let her down displaying a smile on his face. "I don't mind."

She smiled coyly and grabbed a pancake.

Becker mimicked her gesture and added as if it was nothing special: "I mean, some day it would be more reasonable anyway to sell one flat."

With a loud CLANG Jess's knife hit her plate. "What?"

Becker shrugged the same second his mobile rang.

"Wouldn't be fair to unnecessarily let you keep cleaning two flats." He winked smiling widely before he just answered his mobile. "Connor, you're in trouble again?"

"Action man! Nope, but if I am you're the first one to know and that's the actual reason why it's really good to have you back. Well, the girl, Sally, asked for you and so did Lester who also wondered where 'Miss Parker' was."

Suddenly Becker remembered Sally again and some other details he had forgotten about. "Tell Lester we'll be there after breakfast."

He hung up again.

"Becker…"

"Hm?"

"Did you mean it? Well, moving together…of course not immediately, but, you know, maybe some time…"

Becker needed five seconds to respond and he surprised himself by answering: "I did actually." And he also realised that he really meant it. But there was one thing he had to tell her first: "Jess, there is something I should tell you. I got to know a former friend of Emily's, a pretty nasty woman…and uhm…she kissed me." He waited for her reaction. Jess chewed on her lip not knowing what to say. This was nothing she could have expected. Something inside her suddenly pressed down onto her lung. "I am sorry Jess. She just caught me off guard. I couldn't prevent it."

There was no response. Anxiety got hold of him as he saw her hollow eyes. "Jess, please say something."

She opened her mouth but closed it again to swallow.  
>"I…don't know what to say. I mean, I know she's hundreds of years away and I don't want to be angry with you, but it's a strange feeling…the thought of you kissing other women…I don't like it…" It made her muscles tense.<p>

"Jess, you know I love you, right?" Her heart fluttered and a gasp escaped her throat for she would never get used to Captain Becker expressing his feelings, but she put on a playful tone so he wouldn't notice her uneasiness:  
>"Well, you of all men want to move in with me, if that isn't love."<p>

He smiled. "So, we're good, aren't we?" He reached for her hand and Jess finally nodded, although she couldn't let go of the image of Becker and another woman. She tried to concentrate on her food instead.

The mobile rang again.

"Where are you? Breakfast is over and brunch is for Sundays so get over here!"

"On our way, Lester!" Becker rolled his eyes.

* * *

><p>Jess and Becker were the last ones to arrive at Lester's office.<p>

"Ah, finally!" Lester greeted them.

"Yeah, one might actually think he gets a day off after being dragged to a different time and getting injured and so on." Becker said sarcastically.

His boss just rolled his eyes though and answered in a rather bored tone. "You can leave early, but right now we have some things to discuss. For example: what's your intention with the girl?"

Becker choked. "Excuse me?"

Everyone was starring at Lester, but he didn't seem to notice the ambiguity of his words. "Concerning the girl! She's just 16, I believe. She can't live on her own! And I doubt that you would like to adopt her!?"

Becker's eyes grew wide. Him being the legal guardian of a 16 year old girl? "Well…er…" He stuttered alarmed, while Lester merely interrupted the Head of Security remarking: "I didn't expect anything else!"

"Well, she can stay here for a couple of days, can't she?" Abby asked.

"Where else should she go? There's no other way! It's a disaster!" Lester replied.

Jess squinted at Becker, but he gave nothing away. Danny grunted and Lester raised his eyebrows and snapped at Danny: "Do you want to add something?"

"You sure she is no spy?"

Grunts and grumbles filled the air along with some remarks like: "Danny!" or "She is just a girl!"

Danny just shrugged and ,surprisingly, Lester showed some mutual concern: "I don't want her walking around the ARC on her own!"

"Well, we could always send her back to her time?" Connor piped up.

"That would be the best option after all." Lester agreed. "Try to get your thing working again as soon as possible!"

"Ethan is the bigger concern now, isn't he?" Jess asked to shift the attention.

"Yes, what are we going to do with him?" Danny asked.

Lester shrugged. "Keep him locked up of course."

"Do you really think he works together with his future self?" Connor asked. "Just imagine the possibilities. He knows what's going to happen. Everything! This is so creepy!"

"But we changed the future before, didn't we?" Abby jumped in. "So, how can he be sure about what is going to happen?"

"Maybe he just pretends to be?"

"Or maybe our fate is inevitable after all." Connor mused.

There silence as everyone thought about the consequences of his thesis.

"Maybe it's only inevitable as long as no one interferes. " Everyone watched her with questions marks in their eyes. "Now, we know that he might be a few steps ahead of us. Chances are that we figure his plan out and change the future again." Jess said.

"Yes, but what if that is exactly what will happen?" Danny chimed in. "When it is predestined that we try to act. He would still know all of our steps."

"Is it just me or do you have a headache, too?" Connor asked.

"This is all very philosophic, but the question still is: What is his plan?" Lester said.

"World domination?" Connor asked.

"Connor!"

"What? Doesn't every villain want as much power as possible? And especially this guy! He might hold a personal grudge against Action Man, but this is much bigger!"

Becker had his arms crossed over his chest and looked pretty menacingly with a deep crease decorating his forehead: "I say we shoot him. Problems solved."

Being a little shocked everyone looked at him.

"Becker!"

"No murders under this roof! If you shoot a human being bear the consequences on your own. I won't cover for that!" Lester exclaimed pointing a finger at him. "Captain, I…"

"I was joking!" Becker interrupted his boss.

"Time travels must have worn down your humour!" Lester snapped dryly as his mobile started ringing at that moment. "That's the minister. So you go and do what you can to sort all this mess out."

On their way out Becker frowned as he noticed that Matt had been missing. "Hey, where is Matt?"

"Somewhere, running an errand for Lester." Emily answered and strode away towards her office.

Becker, Jess and Danny walked downstairs into the ops room.

"You wouldn't really shoot him, would you?" Jess asked quietly.

Becker smiled slightly: "Of course not, don't worry." And then he added: "But that doesn't mean I wouldn't like to…How, did you catch him anyway?"

Jess glanced at Danny who shared her glance. "Er…"

Becker stopped crossing his arms over his chest again while he gazed from one to the other. "What are you not telling me?" Jess smoothed her dress avoiding his eyes and Danny just watched her out of the corners of his eyes. He was a little surprised why Jess hadn't told him and he surely wasn't the one to start telling Becker now. Becker crooked his eyebrows at the silence that started to wear down Jess's nerves until she finally admitted: "He came to my flat."

"What!?"

"Yeah, but luckily Danny had slept over, so it really was no big deal." Jess babbled away.

"Slept over?"

"On the couch, I mean!" Jess quickly added. "After we have been out I didn't want to be alone."

"Wait, you went out!?" Becker looked at her, stunned. He needed a deep breath and didn't know if he was rather shocked or angry.

"With the team!" Danny quickly jumped in to help Jess out, but Becker just glared at him. "We had a night out with the team!"

The Head of Security let out a humourless laugh and looked pretty pissed. Something inside him pulled together. He ignored Quinn and turned to Jess: "Why didn't you tell me?" His voice sounded harsher than he had thought. Suddenly Jess looked like she was about to take a step backwards:

"I…well, I…didn't want to worry you!" Her voice was rather small.

"So, you hid it? Did you think it wouldn't come out?"

"I…"

"And about you!" Becker interrupted Jess and turned to Danny instead. He straightened his back and approached him. Their faces were just centimetres away from each other. Their eyes glaring at one another and Jess thought she saw the air flicker full of electricity and tension. She held her breath to wait along with Danny for what there was to come, but the soldier just kept starring at his opponent.

Finally he grunted and walked away.

"Becker!" Jess wailed. "Nothing happened! I swear!"

"Leave it, Jessica!" He barked.

"But…" Danny put a hand onto her shoulder to keep her from following Becker. Gnawing her teeth with a gut wrenching feeling in her stomach she stared after him for some seconds before she abruptly turned around to Danny shaking his hand off.

"Why didn't you say anything?"

"I…"

"Nothing happened between us! Why didn't you say it?"

"Because he knows Jess."

"He knows? He is mad at me now!"

"He is not. He is jealous, he will calm down!" Danny knew it had been mean, but he had always loved to tease Becker. Anyway, only seconds later a pinch of regret hit him as he noticed Jess's troubled face. He tried to touch her shoulder in gesture of comfort but she just knocked his hand away and walked towards the ADD.

* * *

><p><em>Thanks for reading=)<em>


	40. Chapter 40

Matt had stolen a white lab coat along with a clipboard and walked down an unfamiliar corridor. He hadn't told anyone where he had gone. The fewer people knew the better.

It had been difficult to get inside the building but he had managed by pretending to be a delivery guy who was to take some samples to another lab.

While he walked through the corridors he realised how inconvenient it was not to have a voice in his ear that would guide him. He had gotten used to not being alone on a mission.

He aimlessly walked around for some time, just hoping that he would find something by chance. Any clue that would help him figuring out what exactly was going on.

The bold letters of the emblem of Prospero hang on a white wall.

Matt wondered if it was better to think up another plan, as he rounded a corner and saw a familiar face.

Robert!

The scientist walked down the corridor and turned right. Matt quickly followed him and saw how he disappeared behind an electronically locked door, where Matt had no access to. He pursed his lips instead of cursing.

But there was one other place he could go to find out what was going on.

The cafeteria, the rumour mill. It was always a good place to find out about the latest gossip.

* * *

><p>Becker was starring gloomily at Ethan, his arms crossed over his chest. There was this angry line on his forehead again.<p>

Ethan was sitting in a corner on a cot just starring at a wall, patiently waiting for whatever there was to come…an inevitable fate maybe? His plan to succeed?

Becker's chest heaved with a deep sigh.

The door opened and Danny joined him. Silently mimicking his pose.

No one said a word.

But the silence became heavier and heavier.

Two man just starring at their mutual enemy.

Becker's hands itched to hit Quinn right in the face, so he dug his nails almost painfully into his palms. He was still tensed and angry.

"You know she wouldn't cheat on you."

Becker pressed his jaw together. Of course he knew that! Didn't he?

"You should be glad I had been there!"

A tiny voice in his head told him that Danny was right.

After another grunt Becker sighed and decided to lift the weight of both of their shoulders.

Becker gnawed his teeth and finally mumbled: "Thanks for watching out for her."

He turned to look at Danny who nodded and shrugged one shoulder: "Sure."

"I am just...not myself, I guess."

Danny snorted: "Yes. You should go home and get some rest, you have been stuck in the past for weeks after all."

Becker let his arms down and nodded defeated. Suddenly he felt pretty bad about kind of everything that had happened.  
>Couldn't his life be easy for just one fricken day? Why was he so moody?<br>As a peace offer he tried to joke. A rather sad attempt, but Danny didn't mind the teasing.  
>"Don't think you're off the hook! I am watching you!" Becker pointed at him threateningly, but he said it in a playful tone. "I have seen how you look at her…"<p>

"Becker, you can't blame a man for finding a woman attractive!"

Becker pursed his lips: "Don't touch her!"

"Becker, do you really think I would steal your girlfriend?"

Probably not, Becker thought, but didn't say it out loud. Danny rolled his eyes. "I have no chance anyway. You should go and tell her you're not mad at her though."

Of course Becker knew that, but he didn't like Danny giving him advice on his girlfriend.

He turned back to the window.

However, part of Danny was a little jealous and angry at Becker because of Jess.

For a short moment Becker had wondered if he should show himself to this Ethan, in order to see his reaction.  
>Danny shook his head: "I don't think that's a good idea."<p>

Becker admitted that he was right. "Well, I'll have to talk to Matt. I'll see you later."

"Go home!" Danny yelled after him and Becker just waved a hand.

* * *

><p>But Matt had just disappeared. His mobile and com was switched off, which was highly suspicious.<p>

However, he felt too ashamed to ask Jess about it. Suddenly he was a little embarrassed about his overreaction.

The soldier walked down a different corridor and knocked at the white door before he entered.

"About time you show you!" Emily scolded.

"Becker!" Sally smiled sitting upright in a hospital bed.

"Hey. How are you?"

"Fine. Emily has shown me so much! This time is amazing! Have you been busy with your work?" Small wonder that Emily and Sally had connected so quickly. Once, Emily had been in her shoes. And the tribe was their mutual connection, too.

It eased Becker's conscience a little to see that the girl was fine.

He would have to thank Emily later for taking care of her.

"I was. Emily, do you know where Matt is?"

She shook her head no.

"Do you have to leave again? Can't you show me what you're doing?" Sally asked with big innocent eyes.

Becker knew he was neglecting her and somehow he felt bad about it, but then again there were so many important things to do and he had never allowed her to follow him.

"Sorry, but I am quite busy right now…"

"I am bored being alone most of the day! I want to see so much, please! I am not allowed o leave this room on my own!"

Becker sighed. He had known that this would happen.

"I guess I have some time tomorrow."

She smiled. "Fantastic!"

* * *

><p>Emily left the room together with Becker.<p>

"Thanks Emily."

She shrugged. "I don't have much to do at the moment and since you are sooo busy…"

Becker let out a frustrated breath. "What should I do with a 16 year old girl? No, please don't answer! Anyway, what happened between you and your friend?"

Emily moistened her lips before she began: "Well, just a stupid accident with her sister Charlotte." But her eyes were sad and her voice low despite her words. "I don't want to talk about it right now."

Becker accepted that answer, but he couldn't help remembering the dead woman they had found in the theatre as Emily and Ethan had appeared for the first time.

After a couple of hours was Matt still missing.

As Becker entered the hub he was still thinking about Emily and her story.

Jessica was in her usual place looking rather bored.

She looked up as Becker wordlessly placed her favourite bar of chocolate next to her onto the table.

"I am sorry." He rather mumbled. "I overreacted earlier."

Jess looked at the chocolate, biting her lip, than nodded. Becker covered her hand with his.

"I am glad you weren't alone that night."

Jess intertwined their fingers. She had really missed his touch and the goose bumps it always triggered. "It's okay. I am not mad." She whispered watching their hands.

Becker smiled slightly. "I'll already leave because Lester really ordered me home half an hour ago, but I'll see you later right?" His voice had this soft tone again that made her skin prickle.

"Yes." Jess noticed Becker's eyes flickering around the room before he bent forward to press a sweet kiss onto her lips. Her body heated up and she just wished they had been alone.

The kiss ended far too soon.

Jess almost sighed as Becker pulled back. She had missed him a little too much over these past few weeks and didn't want to waste any time fighting.

Icy fingers grabbed her body as she suddenly feared they might not have had much time left. Who knew?

She also noticed the little changes in his character and wondered if it was too much to think about her as the reason.

He was still the tough soldier, but occasionally he led down his guard now, which he had never done before.

"See you soon." He whispered still lingering close to her face.

She was still holding on to his hand. "Jess, I think you have to let go of me." She realised just then what was going on.

"Oh! Sorry, er…yeah see you later."

She shook her head to herself after Becker had left.

How did she always manage to make a fool out of herself?

Even now that they were together!

If she had known how cute Becker found her confusions she wouldn't have felt that stupid.

However, in the end Jess just blamed the whole day for it.

Everything had gone wrong. Connor had caused a black out and half the ARC had been without power for half an hour. Of course all the computers had crashed and Jess had to do some limitation of defect. There were probably no data's lost, but all the security systems had to be checked again.

Then Lester had thrown a tantrum as to why his computer wasn't working properly and the fact that Matt had disappeared hadn't made her work any easier.

Coms on at all times! What was so hard about it?!

It was a relief to go home, well, to Becker's place anyway.

Did he really mean what he had suggested this morning?

She mulled over it the whole way, because that would be a quite serious step. Maybe it was just one of these things you say, but never do. Like "yes, someday…" and then a few a years later you realise that you never did it.

She sighed as she dragged herself upstairs.

In the beginning Becker hadn't even wanted to be with her in order to avoid situations like the one they were in right now. But he didn't seem to have second thoughts about it anymore.

Right now she just wanted to lie down next to Becker and let the world do whatever it was doing.

She unlocked the door and threw her bag onto a shelf.

Suddenly, she noticed how quiet and dark the flat was.

Oh no not again! Please, no surprises!

The hair on her neck stood on end.

She listened.

No, it wasn't that quiet, there was a soft noise…voices? Yes…no…music?

She listened to her heart beat.

She took a careful step looking for a weapon. The vase maybe… "Becker?"

She waited for merely seconds.

"Kitchen!" He simply answered. Jess put a hand over her heart and let out a relieved breath she hadn't realised she had been holding.

"Don't scare…" She stopped midsentence as she entered the kitchen.

No wonder it was dark.

The only light came from the candles on the table. Their flames dancing to the quiet music and on top of all it smelled deliciously! "Becker…wha'…"

He walked up to her: "Are you hungry?"

"Yes…I…I don't know what to say!"

"Now, that's new!" He teased closing his hands behind the lower part of her back.

She glanced at the stove. "Did you actually cook?"

"I did. I thought we would somehow deserve this after everything."

Totally mesmerized she stared into his hazel brown eyes and swallowed hard. "I guess so."

He lowered his head and before he kissed her he whispered. "I've missed you."

Her heart swelled as his tongue slipped into her mouth. She cupped his cheeks, sucking in a sharp breath as Becker pulled her closer. Wrapping his arms tightly around her. His tongue playing with hers. Jess's heart pumped the blood through her veins.

She lost ground. Leaning into the kiss. Feeling his hair under her fingers. Her cheeks pounded and glowed.

As they pulled apart just enough to actually breathe she noticed that she literally had lost ground.

She wrapped a leg around Becker's. He smirked cupping her butt.

They stood like this for some seconds, as Jess's stomach grumbled and she cursed inwardly for not having eaten before.

Becker just chuckled. "I think we should eat first and save the rest for desert." He winked.

Jess pouted slightly, but Becker let her down never the less. He had noticed that Jess had lost weight and even before she hadn't weighed much.

They sat down and started eating. Jess really enjoyed the delicious food and she couldn't remember the last time she had eaten this much.

Then Becker asked the question that had been on his mind the whole time. He let his voice sound as normal and irrelevant as possible, as if he didn't really care, but truth was that it really did bother him. "So, had Danny been staying over often?"

"Becker…" Jess said warningly.

"I am just curious." He quickly defended himself.

Jess stayed calm. "Just this once, really! And nothing happened!" She added under her breath. "It's not as if I kissed someone else…" Becker still heard it.

"Hey, that was…" But he bit his tongue. "Jess, I do trust you, it's just somehow still bothering me…"

He reached out for her hand.

Jess shrugged. "I guess we're even…"

He caressed the back of her hand with his thumb. "If you don't mind then I'll take over Danny's job as your bodyguard."

Jess chuckled. "My pleasure!"

Their gazes held each other in the moment, until Jess stood up to sit down at Becker's lap.

She straddled his legs and pressed herself to his body.

Their lips met in a hot wet kiss.

Feeling Jess's body moving against him Becker grew hot pretty quickly. He had denied just how much he had longed for this.

Her hands moved threw his hair and down to his shoulder, while his travelled from her hips up her sides. Their tongues crashed against each other in wet strokes.

Jess's core started pulsing and she tried to get even closer to Becker whose trousers started feeling too tight.

"Bedroom?" He breathed between two kisses.

"Yes." She answered with a breath, so Becker hoisted her up while Jess locked her legs around his hips. Her tight skirt slit up to her waist in the process.

Still kissing Becker had some trouble finding the right way and so Jess's back hit the door frame.

A small "ouf" escaped her throat and Becker hesitated.

"Sorry."

Jess breathed. "It's okay."

He carried her over to the bed and let her down gently onto the soft mattress. He hovered over her small body and placed a kiss into the crook of her neck. She moaned as his tongue licked its way down to her collar bone. Her body became hotter and wetter and she arched her hips up to feel the pressure of his body against her pulsing core.

His hand slowly stroked the inside of her thigh and she tangled her leg with his. Her hand travelled under his shirt, caressing his abs that tightened under the touch. He put more body weight onto her pressing her into the mattress.

Somehow he got rid off his shirt and Jess's dress. She was lying under him only in dark blue underwear. A hand on one side of her midst, his thumb stroking over her stomach.

She nibbled at his earlobe and trailed down a wet path the side of his neck, while her hand slipped into his pants, feeling his arousal, hard and waiting for release.

He moaned into her ear.

The jeans were definitely too tight, so he quickly undid it and Jess unclipped her bra. Becker's mouth came down onto one of her breast and she lightly scratched down his back. His erection pressing against her thigh.

"Becker." She breathed. He kissed his way down her stomach and pulled her panties off.

His boxers went flying too. Jess stroked his member again and another groan escaped his throat. Jess purred like a cat which only aroused him more. He felt her wetness against his fingers and her hip instinctively reacted to the touch.

"Please." She needed to feel him inside her.

He himself couldn't wait any longer, so he leaned over to the nightstand to get a condom which he quickly stripped on.

Jess moaned into his ear as he entered her, meeting her in her most sensitive spot.

Their hips starting moving together and the rubbing sensations got to them both.

The room seemed to be too hot. Jess's inner muscles tightened around him with every stroke. Her nails were digging into his shoulders while her legs tightened around his hips.

He pulled out as far as possible just to push back in and Jess's breath hitched in her throat as she came closer and closer to the edge.

Sparks exploded in front of her eyes and Becker followed her over the edge, spreading his seed.

Hot breaths on both of their faces.

They rolled over, still linked together. Becker felt Jess breast onto his chest trying to catch his breath.

He never wanted to let go of her again. Jess kissed him passionately.

She felt almost sad as he pulled out of her.

He held her in his arms after he had gotten rid of the condom. Stroking over her soft hair.

"I love you." She mumbled into the crook of his neck, and kissed it.

He kissed her forehead. "I love you too, Jess."

* * *

><p><em>I have been thinking about how Becker would feel or react and I am not so sure if I got it right, but then again it's just a fanfiction, right?=)<em>

_I hope you like it anyway, which would be the most important thing, I think._

_Thanks for reading!^^_


	41. Chapter 41

_Guys, I am so sorry for the long delay! I have been so busy and wasn't really in the mood for writing._

_Thank you so much for all the lovely comments and for staying with me! I hope you will carry on reading this story, even if it takes some time for me to upload the chapters!_

_Have a great time!=)_

* * *

><p>Becker buried his face in Jess's hair that still smelled of sex.<p>

His fingers stroked her arm in a slow rhythm. Jess's skin prickled slightly and the hairs on her arm stood up in a goose bump. It was dark and quiet and there were just them.

The world outside didn't bother.

Jess took in every scent, touch and sensation that came over her. Becker kissed her shoulder, but said nothing. Their bodies relaxed and melted together covered by a warm cloud of contentment.

The sound of Becker's mobile pulled them out of their dreams.

"Oh no!" Becker groaned and tightened his grip around Jess.

The sound was an annoying intruder in the before appreciated silence.

"Don't you want to get that?"

Becker sighed, not stirring.

"Could be important." Jess suggested getting to his conscience.

"I hate you!"

She smirked. "No you don't!"

He grimaced remembering that phrase with a sour after taste.

He searched for his ringing jeans on the floor and checked the caller ID before answering.

"Matt, I've been looking for you the whole day!" His voice was reproachful, for a having been absent and b interrupting him NOW.

"Matt?" Jess sat up being all ears now.

"Becker, I need to talk to you!" Matt answered seriously.

The soldier looked at the naked Jess in his bed.

"Yeah, well I am kinda busy now."

"Where has he been?" Jess chimed in.

"It's important, mate. I've been at Prospero's." Matt went on making Becker pinch the bridge of his nose. Oh, bloody hell!

"Duh, seriously can't that wait? Is it life threatening?"

"Yes."

Becker closed his eyes, for he really didn't feel like leaving Jess in the middle of the night.

"Let me rephrase that: ", he tried, "Is someone's life being threatened right now?"

Jess sat up straighter in alarm.

"No, but…" Matt admitted.

"Matt, I'll be the first one in tomorrow, but let me catch up some sleep! If that's possible!"

Matt let out a sigh. "Jess is wearing down your sense of duty."

"Matt!"

"Yes, it can wait for a couple of hours!"

"Thank you!" He said sharper than he had intended to.

After he had hung up he nevertheless considered if he should head over to Matt's straight away. He didn't want to be responsible if it was more important than given credit for.

"Do you have to leave?"

Becker looked at his girlfriend, her firm breasts, her tousled hair and her Bambi eyes and finally he shook his head. "Not yet, just in a couple of hours." He tried to smile, but kept standing in the middle of the room indecisively. Jess stretched out her hand and made the decision for him.

He climbed back into bed and kissed her. His hand went from the side of her neck slowly down to her breast and travelled down over her stomach and further south.

A breath hitched in Jess's throat.

"Didn't you say something about catching up on some sleep?" She whispered huskily.

"Sleep is overrated!" He whispered against her lips and rubbed her sensitive spots to arouse her again…

* * *

><p>Jess woke up as Becker kissed her cheek. She tried to open her heavy eyelids, but she was too exhausted.<p>

"No, go back to sleep, you still have some time. I'll go and see Matt before work, I'll be back soon." He was about to leave as a small hand caught the hem of his jacket.

Becker chuckled.

"You'll be back, right?" Jess mumbled into the cushions.

Becker turned to Jess again and sat down at the edge of the bed. Gently he put her hair behind her ear, but Jess didn't open her eyes.

"Of course I will. Don't worry, you won't get rid of me that quickly." He kissed her cheek again. "I love you." He whispered gently.

Jess smiled mumbling: "Wuv you too." And treated Becker to another grin.

"I'll see you later." But the small hand shot out from under the covers again. "Jess…"

Reluctantly she let go and moaned something that sounded almost like: "Stay warm" turning her back to him.

Becker didn't know if he should role his eyes or just smile.

* * *

><p>Matt waited impatiently in front of the Starbucks around the corner.<p>

A neutral place would be best for their conversation he had decided. There were too many people at the ARC, too many eavesdroppers.

Becker's face was a mask of seriousness as he came walking down the street. Matt's call had worried him.

The two men nodded at each other before entering the café.

They ordered coffee and sat down in a corner making sure that no one could eavesdrop on them.

"So, Becker, shoot." Matt surprisingly asked, because he had gotten the hint that there was much more to his story and he wanted to hear that part first, before he told him what he had found out.

Becker cleared his throat:

"I wasn't just in the past…Ethan took me to the future first. No human being had been there."

Matt nodded, he wasn't surprised at all. "I told you."

"I know, but to have you telling me that humans will extinct and to see it, it's totally different…Not that I didn't believe you, but…"

"I know."

"There were only future predators. Do they wipe out humans?"

Matt shrugged. "I don't know…yet…" He added quietly and something flickered in Becker's eyes.

"Anyway, he looked for the key, that was obvious, so he doesn't know that we have it and as the tribe got back from their mission to steal the anomaly creator for me, they also got me this…" He carefully placed a small wooden box in the middle of the table and Matt's eyes showed surprise which they rarely did.

"That's it?"

Becker shrugged while Matt took it and examined it carefully.

"What would be so important?"

"I have no idea." Becker stared at the object before he went on. "So, I guess you too wanted to share something…for example where you've been yesterday?"

Matt put the box down again. "Prospero."

"Prospero?" Becker asked. He had heard about Prospero moving their labs because they needed more space.

Matt just grinned. "Space issues, if only that was our problem…"

Becker quirked an eyebrow.

"Something went wrong. They experimented with human cells and apparently something went wrong, but I don't know what exactly. I just know that the staff is in a uproar and no one knows exactly what is going to happen now."

Becker was quiet as he thought about it.

"While you were away we had a visitor." Matt started and Becker was all ears though his face was a mask of stone. "The minister's nephew who asked me what we would do if something went wrong with all the testing. If we would have an antidote or something if there ever was the danger of changing mankind." Becker frowned. "Hi name is Robert. A pretty smart lad."

The name rang something.

"He told me that I wouldn't see the obvious." Matt added.

Becker grunted somehow trying to figure out how everything fit together…

"So, something did go wrong…"

"Yes, and let's just assume that boy is right and this would change mankind."

"Matt…"

"Let's just think about it for a moment!"

"You don't suppose that this is the moment you've been sent back for? To save the world?"

Matt shrugged. "I have no idea, it is just a bit odd, don't you think?"

The moment that could change the whole future?

What exactly would that mean?

"Let's figure out what's in there first." Becker suggested and motioned at the brown object between them.

Matt's mobile rang. He looked at the display and explained: "Anomaly alert. I guess we'll do it later."

"I am going with you."

"Becker."

"Matt, I am coming with you. I am fine!"

Matt didn't argue, because he knew that Becker would come anyway, no matter what.

In the car Matt put his ear piece in and switched his black box on.

"Jess, did you send me the coordinates?" he asked over coms.

"Should all be there."

The anomaly was near a small lake a little outside of town.

"Becker is with me, in case someone asks." Becker glared at Matt for giving him away.

"Excuse me? Why? Becker!"

"Jess, I am fine, don't worry!" Becker snapped.

"Stubborn moron!" She mumbled and Matt burst out laughing loudly.

The rest of the drive was silent as Matt was still grinning while Becker angrily looked out of the window.

When they reached the location Abby, Connor and Emily just got out of the car in front of them.

"Matt." Becker had remembered something.

"Yeah?"

"Have you talked to Emily about her past?"

Matt looked at Emily and frowned. "She doesn't like to talk about it."

"Maybe you should try again." Matt threw a questioning glance at Becker who said no more, and got out of the car instead.

"Jess, do you have a visual?" Matt asked.

"No, I don't. There are no cameras."

The anomaly was pretty close to the smooth water surface.

Black clad soldiers rushed towards it to close it as quickly as possible.

They managed it without any trouble.

Everyone held an EMD.

"Okay, let's make sure nothing has come through." Matt said. "Becker you stay here."

This time Becker didn't complain.

"Guys!" Connor yelled. He stood further away at the water's edge. "There's something in the water!" He pointed at the middle of the lake. Everyone squinted into the direction.

"Are you sure?" Emily asked.

"Pretty much."

"I can't see anything." Abby said. "Maybe it was just a fish."

They waited for another minute searching the surface.

And yes, something broke through.

"Looks like a huge snake or worm."

"It's definitely a water creature, so we should be safe on the ground."

"How do we get it out of there?"

"Get a net?" Connor asked.

* * *

><p><em>Thank you for reading!<em>


	42. Chapter 42

_I am sorry you had to wait so long, but I'll upload the next chapter right now as well^^  
>But I am not sure if they are that good, because I had a little bit of a writer's block.<em>

_I hope you can enjoy it anyway!_

* * *

><p>Hours later they were still trying to catch that thing.<p>

"Can someone please do something!? Anything?" Becker complained. He really was not keen on spending his evening here, after he had just gotten his warm and comfy bed back.

"I have got an idea!" Connor exclaimed.

"Oh, great, like the other five you had before?" Danny asked, his voice dripping of sarcasm.

"Oh yeah, because they worked out so well!" Becker agreed.

"Right, so Temple, what now?" Danny asked and Becker actually nudged him playfully.

"At least I do have ideas!" Connor defended.

* * *

><p>"Jess, where is everyone?" Lester entered the hub with his hands on the back. He had just returned from a meeting with the minister. Jess turned swiftly around in her chair:<p>

"They're still out fighting Nessie."

"Nessie?"

"The Moster of Lochness?" Jess joked. Her boss rolled his eyes.

"Oh, yeah, very funny indeed!" Lester sarcastically remarked.

* * *

><p>Sally was hanging her legs over the edge of her bed and waiting for something to happen. She sighed and looked around the room. Becker had promised to show her around, hadn't he?<p>

So, where was he?

With a purse of her lips she got up and squinted through a gap in the door.

As quietly as possible she sneaked out of the room and into the corridors of the ARC building.

There was no one around and everything was quiet so Sally relaxed. She had enough time to walk around undisturbed by anyone. This was so exciting.

What would she discover?

The walls were thick and strong, yet so cold. The small boxes in the corners: Cameras, as Emily had told her, looked at her like a thousand eyes. She knew this should make her nervous, but it was too fascinating! There was the noise of air being pumped through the ventilation system.

The see through walls: Windows. Everywhere.

It looked like you could just grab through it, but the glass was as solid as any other surface.

She turned another corner, curious what else there was to discover.

The ceiling was missing its interior carpeting, because some technicians were working on the cable systems.

Fine black lines: Cables. Everywhere. They were like a lead to Sally.

She followed it looking at the ceiling rather than at the ground.

Someone knocked next to her at a window.

She jumped and shrieked instantly covering her mouth with her hands.

The girl stared right into the eyes of Ethan. He was beckoning to her. Gleaming at her.

Sally's heart beat was loud in her ears so she couldn't hear what Ethan was saying at first.

She just saw his mouth opening and closing again and again, before she could finally understand him.

"Sally, isn't it?"

"Go away!" She said without realising how silly it sounded since he was locked up.

"Hey, don't worry, I won't harm you! We have never actually met."

"I know who you are! You are Ethan."

"Why the harsh tone?"

"You're bad!"

"How do you know?"

Sally chewed on her lip.

"They told you, I know, but what if I am not the bad guy here? What if I am trying to save the world?"

"I don't believe you!"

"I know, but really! Your friends are making a big mistake!"

Sally just stared at him.

"I am trying to help them. Come here, I am going to explain it to you."

She took a step closer.

"The thing they stole from me has to be brought to a special place only I know of. I can't tell you more about it because it would change everything. But it has to be there soon and since I am still here I can't do it."

Sally considered. "You want me to let you out?"

"That would be a big help, sweetie."

Disgusted she looked at him.

"No one has time for you right? That's not fair. I wonder why they are so busy? What are they doing? Saving or destroying the world?"

Condescendingly Sally stared at him. "Becker wouldn't harm anyone! I know that!"

Ethan sniggered. "I wonder why he didn't want you to come here…if he was such a good guy, there would be nothing to fear right?"

Sally was silent.

"Ask him about it! I know you are a clever girl. You can't be fooled that easily, can you? I don't deserve to be here. Take your time and think about it."

"Hey, what are you doing here?" A soldier suddenly approached them.

Sally got frightened and ran down the corridor away from him.

"Think about it, Sally." Ethan yelled, but the girl just kept running.

He was lying! How could he not be the bad guy?

Becker wouldn't lie, would he?

All of a sudden she bumped right into him.

"Sally, what are you doing here?" He suddenly looked so big and threatening.

The words got stuck in her dry throat. Bad guy?

"Connor, would you just shut up!" Abby said annoyed.

The team appeared in the corridor behind Becker.

"Yes, please." Emily agreed. "If it wasn't for you we wouldn't have almost drowned!"

Just as she said it, Sally noticed that they were all dripping wet from head to toes.

Everyone except Connor.

"I swear, Temple, I'll get you back for that!" Danny threatened and Connor gulped.

Danny strode away towards the showers.

"He's joking isn't he?" Connor whispered.

Matt rolled his eyes. "Whatever, I suggest we all get cleaned up first. What's the girl doing down here?"

Everyone became aware of Sally just now.

"I was just about to ask her."Becker answered, looking at the girl in front of him.

She looked into everyone's eyes, totally scared and withdrew. Her voice was merely a whisper: "I was…I…"

"She was bored of course." Abby stated the obvious.

Matt threw a look at Becker, silently asking him what they were to do with her.

Becker sighed. "Okay, I'll get cleaned up and then we'll take a stroll through town, how about that?" He didn't wait for an answer, but something glimmered in Sally's eyes. "Go down that corridor. It will lead you straight to Jess, wait for me there, okay?"

She just nodded and moved into the said direction after Becker gave her a gentle push.

* * *

><p>"Come on let's open that thing." Becker said and looked around unnecessarily of course. There was no one there and there were no cameras in the area in front of the showers. Matt gave a quick nod and held the little brown box in his palm.<p>

The little key fit perfectly.

It clicked as he turned it.

The men stared at the small object and opened it.

* * *

><p><em>Thanks for reading!<em>


	43. Chapter 43

_Here we go, as promised=)_

* * *

><p>Sally was standing in the middle of a wide open room.<p>

She hardly dared to breath or move or make any sound that was.

But Jess turned around in her chair as she noticed someone behind her.

"Oh, hello." She smiled warmly. "We haven't been introduced officially." She walked up to the small frightened girl who looked at her with big doe eyes. "Jess Parker." She held out her hand but Sally just stared at it, not daring to take it. Jess didn't bat an eyelid, she just let her hand drop and started talking. "You're Sally, I know. I have heard loads about you. You're from a very early century, aren't you? Small wonder you are frightened. I know I would be if I hadn't grown up with this. Come on, I'll show you something." She walked back to the ADD, but Sally didn't follow her immediately. The young woman had overwhelmed her too much with her fast and many words.

But she seemed to be friendly. She couldn't be a bad person…

Jess brought up the CCTV footage on the screen. "Look, I can watch everyone in the whole building without moving out of my chair. Isn't it amazing? This is the gym, where the soldiers are training, you see? Between the two of us, I like to watch them now and then. There is the menagerie with all the creatures we couldn't send back home. Poor things! Don't you think? They might never get home.

This is the car park. Then we have all the laboratories. Most of them are empty now, that Prospero has moved their stuff. And this…" She pushed a button and Sally tumbled backwards. Jess chuckled. "Don't worry it's just the ADD's webcam. Come here." Sally slowly came closer again and saw herself on the strange magical screen. "Over there is a tiny camera that records everything that happens in front of it."

Sally stared at her picture. She stretched out her hand carefully to touch the screen, but she stopped as her reflection did it as well. Jess watched her fascinated. Sally withdrew her hand and touched her face, just like her twin. She moved closer to the screen and then backwards again. She held up her hand and watched.

"That…"

"That's you. It's similar to a mirror, not really, but that's the easiest way to explain it. You know that a mirror reflects what you're doing, so does the camera, but the difference is that a camera can also record your movements. It captures everything you do and I can look at it later again and again, as often as I want to. Here I'll show you." Jess showed her what she meant and Sally watched herself in the past couple of minutes. She was speechless.

"You must be very powerful." She whispered and made Jess chuckled again.

"That's lovely, but despite that I know more about computers than most of the people around here, what I just showed you is not complicated and everyone can do it. I could even show you how it works." Sally starred at her shocked.

Jess smiled, but grew a little uneasy under this stare. Did she say something wrong?

"Oh look, Becker is on his way over here."

A moment later Becker entered the ops room.

"Hey there. Did you went swimming without me? I am disappointed." Jessica teased.

"Yeah, very funny Jess. Remind me never to take Connor's orders again."

"Will do."

"Sally, are you ready?" Sally nodded and to Jess Becker explained. "I'll take her to town, so if Lester asks well…"

"I'll tell him you've been going for an ice cream with your new best friend."

The soldier rolled his eyes.

"I'll think of something." Jess quickly added before Becker could give any mean remark.

"Of course. Come on Sally, we'll leave Miss Parker to her jealousy."

He led her away.

"Captain!" Jess said. "I am ashamed of you."

Becker grinned to himself and only Sally saw it. As he turned around again to Jess his face showed no emotion. He strode back to the ADD and placed a chocolate bar next to her.

"The second one in two days. I am impressed."

"I have to make up some lost time, haven't I?"

She smiled and quickly pecked his cheek.

* * *

><p>The young girl and the soldier drove into town not into the centre but to some narrow busy shopping streets.<p>

Sally looked around amazed.

Becker tried to repress the alarming thoughts of the contents of the chest for now.

A small vial filled with a green liquid.

"_What the hell…?" He had said and looked at it, not daring to pick it up. "What is that?" _

_Matt had squinted at it. "Whatever it is, we should try not to break it."_

_Becker could only agree. _

_They had decided on analyzing it before doing anything else…_

"Becker?"

"Huh?"

"Are you married to that woman?"

Becker chuckled. "No, I am not. Why do you ask?"

"Because you kissed her and you brought her chocolate and the way you look at her."

"She's my girlfriend, yes, but we are not married. You see you don't have to get married in this time. You can choose any partner you want to, but you don't have to marry."

Sally made big eyes again. This time was strange.

They walked down an alley next to a small stream. The sun was coyly blinking through the white clouds.

"Come on, I'll show you another great thing of this time." He said and strode towards an ice cream parlour, remembering what Jess had said. Somehow he felt like doing the girl some good, maybe even making her smile.

The Italian vendor greeted them effusively.

"Buongiorno signore, signorina. What can I do for you?"

Becker ordered something while Sally just took in her surroundings and the foreign man.

"There you go, principessa." She hesitatingly took the offered cone and answered:

"Er, Sir, this must be a mistake, I am not royalty."

Everyone laughed, believing it was a joke, besides Becker of course.

"A very funny daughter you have, signore."

"Oh, she's not my…yes, she has her moments." Becker answered.

Outside on the street Sally wanted to have an explanation.

"He meant it as a joke, a pet name."

"Oh."

"Now, try the ice cream. As a warning it's cold."

Never ever had she tasted something similar. It was cold, but soft and sweet and delicious as it smoothly ran down her throat.

Becker watched her amused out of the corners of his eyes.

Daughter…pf, ridiculous thought. He and kids? Well, he had always thought about it as a thing that lay far away in the future. It was always like yes, someday…but now, well, he was 27...he loved his girlfriend...ridiculous thought! Jess was too young and they didn't even live together yet...maybe someday.

He just realised that he might use the phrase a little too often...

"Becker?"

"Yeah, why didn't you want me to come?"

"Well, Sally, you are just 16 and in this time, it means that you need an adult who is responsible for you until you turn 18, just then are you legally allowed to live on your own. And the law says that you have to go to school. In order to get a good job later, to earn enough to live a decent life you need school education. You see we have lots of rules and if they are not obeyed, the government will take care of you. In your case they would want to know where you come from who your parents are and of course we can't tell anyone. They would put you into an orphanage and you see, there would only be problems."

Sally tried to understand everything.

"Is Ethan the bad guy?"

* * *

><p>"Abby, I need your help."Matt said. "Can you help me analyze this?"<p>

He held up the little flask of the unknown liquid.

"What is it?"

"That's what I would like to know."

"And where did you get it?"

"That's not important." Important is that we don' know what it is and we need to be really careful with this."

"Matt I am not stupid! You either tell me what it is or you are on your own!"

"I should have guessed that you'd want to know."

* * *

><p><em>Thanks for reading!<em>

_It might take me a little longer to write the next chapter, because I don't really have an outline yet...sorry.=( I'll do my best!  
><em>


	44. Chapter 44

_Hello everyone,_

_I am so sorry that I abandoned this story for so long! I don't even have a good excuse, at first there was a writers blog and then I got caught in another story and then yeah...I know I should have finished this first and I am determined to do so!_

_I am sorry if this one is a bit clumsy, because I need to find myself back into the story again._

_The next chaper is already in progess!_

_Well, I hope you will still be there to read the ending of this and again I am sorry for the long wait!_

_Have a good time reading!_

* * *

><p>Abby had not been too happy that Becker and Matt had decided to take things into their own hands without telling anyone. Never the less she started on analyzing the liquid of course only during the time where she would not be disturbed by anyone, which meant: night shifts.<p>

With a pipette in her hand she carefully put a drop onto a transparent plastic stripe.

"Hey Abbs!" Connor greeted her and Abby spun around a bit startled.

"Connor! Don't ever do that again!"

"Sorry. So, you coming home with me?"

Abby threw a glance at the table where all her stuff was spread out in quite a mess. She looked back at her boyfriend and shook her head. "No, sorry. I need to finish this first!"

"You already said that last night!" Connor wailed. He got on his toes and tried to catch a look a t what Abby was doing. "What are you up to anyway?"

"Well…"

"Mischief?"

Abby rolled her eyes. "Connor! Matt asked me to help him with his plants. There is one that doesn't develop as the others and now I am trying to figure out why that is." Abby lied and hoped that Connor would forgive her when he found out.

Connor raised his eyebrows. "You help Matt with his plants…"

She pouted because she knew that Connor could never stand that and almost immediately she felt bad yet again for playing him. "I promise that I will be home soon!"

"All right, all right." He gave her a kiss before he disappeared and on his way out he mumbled something about dinosaurs and prehistoric plants which didn't sound too nice.

Abby stared after him before she turned around again and focused again on her task...

* * *

><p>Sally lay awake for a long time. She had seen so much and her brain had to process everything. There were so many new things. Smells, tastes, sights, sounds…<p>

There were so many great things and just so many scary things as well.

She thought of Becker and the way he had shown her London, which should have been actually just a small part of the city as he had told her. The thing was that she just couldn't imagine it!

She had never witnessed things like this and she wondered if this was so much better than the dinosaurs after all.

It was so strange and unfamiliar.

She thought about the people she had left behind in a very distant past.

Somehow, sometime she fell asleep, but she didn't sleep soundly.

She tossed and turned and was very restless.

In her dreams she was chasing dinosaurs and was being chased by them. There was Max at her side who showed her how to survive. How to hunt.

She was running freely. Jumped over bushes and crawled into tiny caves where she could dig for roots. She would jump right into any source of water to get herself cleaned up again.

The air was fresh and cold and so clear.

With a start Sally woke up.

She was breathing hard and when the air travelled into and out of her lungs it made a scary rattling sound. I can't breathe!

She thought and panicked! She quickly got out of bed and into the hallway outside of her room.

She pressed herself against a wall and looked at the ceiling trying to calm down, but the feeling grabbed her with ice cold fingers. She stumbled forward and wanted to run. She wanted to run, she needed air.

The white of her surroundings was too bright and she couldn't see anything.

She didn't where she was going, she just wanted to get away and tried to look for an escape.

But there was none.

She wouldn't find an escape because she was stuck!

Stuck in this strange time! Never going home again!

The faces she had seen in her dreams haunted her and Sally sat down in a corner and hid behind her knees. She webbed.

I want to go home!

She thought and let her feelings out in form of hot wet tears.

* * *

><p>When Jess got home she immediately smelled the food and she frowned.<p>

What was that?

She put her stuff into their usual places in the hallway and then tiptoed into her kitchen where she leaned against the doorframe.

"Hey." Becker greeted her and popped a pine nut into his mouth. Without letting him be disturbed by Jess he just went about his business again.

Jess stepped slowly closer. This was so not Becker.

"Do you have a bad conscience?" She asked suspiciously and eyed the laid table and the food on the stove. Becker shrugged: "No, why? Should I have?"

"Well, since you are being extra nice lately that is, well, just a bit disturbing…So, what did you do?"

Becker had the smallest grin on his face. "Can't I be extra nice to my girl?"

Jess suppressed the chuckle that was about to erupt her. "Well…uhm…" Should she believe him?

Becker shook his head before he dried his hands on a towel and stepped towards Jess. He put his arms around her waist and Jess couldn't help but let herself be engulfed by his warmth.

"Look, I wan hungry and I knew you would be so I thought why not make dinner for both of us."

She pursed her lips before she smiled and got onto her toes in order to give him a sweet kiss.

"Thank you." She whispered against his lips and Becker smiled as well.

"You're welcome." Maybe he had finally arrived. "Come on."

He stirred her to her seat while he went to fetch the food.

Jess made herself comfortable when her glance suddenly fell onto a newspaper next to her. "What's that?"

"What?" Becker looked up from the stove.

Some things were marked in the paper, so Jess picked it up and had a closer look. When she realised what she was staring at her breath hitched. "But…that is…Becker…"

He came to stand next to her chair matter of factly and put a hand onto her shoulder.

"You okay?"

She looked up at him. "Speechless." She looked from him at the circled flat adverts. "Do you mean that?"

Becker just shrugged. "We could have a look and then…"

He was stopped by Jess who jumped off her chair and into his arms. "Oh my…"

He chuckled and Jess tightened her grip around him. Then she kissed him deeply.

"Happy?"

"More than that!" She beamed at him and it actually warmed Becker's heart to see her like this. Yes, he had definitely arrived.

* * *

><p>Abby yawned. She was tired and just wanted to go home.<p>

Her tests hadn't been successful so far.

She took another pipette and mixed two liquids together.

Suddenly she startled and jumped away from the table when there was a sizzling and bubbling sound.

"What the…"

The liquid practically exploded proliferated and released a burning stench.

She quickly ran out of her lab and pushed the red button next to the door that shut the lab down.

An alarm set off and a screeching ringing sound echoed through the A.R.C.

Abby pulled out her mobile and quickly dialled Matt's number.

"Matt we got a problem…"

* * *

><p><em>Thank you to everyone who is still supporting this story! You are amazing!<em>


	45. Chapter 45

_I actually made it and am able to upload the next chapter which makes me so happy, because I do want to finish this story!=)_

_Have a lovely Sunday and happy time reading this! I hope it is to your liking despite the long break there was before...**Mijo54** actually reminded me to start writing again, so, thanks very much for that!=)_

* * *

><p>Sally picks herself up from the floor. Her legs are shaking but she can breathe again. In and out. She looked around, but nothing here looked familiar. So she just chose any direction and made her way down the corridor, always supporting her weight on the wall. One step after the other, but the feeling inside of her from earlier remained. She felt incomplete and the faces she had seen in her dream wouldn't leave her head.<p>

Finally she reached a place where she had been once before. It was the cell block where Ethan was locked up in. He was awake and looked at her curiously when he noticed that the girl entered the room.

She bit her lip and looked around with shy eyes.

Ethan stood up. "Sally, is it?"

She just nodded and embraced herself because of the shivers that ran down her body. She shouldn't been here. Becker would be mad, but…

"You don't look so good."

She sniffed. "I…I want to go home." …maybe he could understand it, because he had been her neighbour. He was a criminal she had understood so much, but right now he was the only connection to her past.

"Home sick, are you?" He sneered but suddenly his eyes widened. "So, you would like to go home, right?"

Sally nodded and her face contorted into a sad mask with tears quietly running down her cheeks.

"What if I told you that I can take you home again?"

Her eyes fixated him and there was a flicker of hope. "Can you?"

He nodded. "Of course!" She watched him step closer to the window.

"You just have to let me out!"

Her eyes flashed to the door and back to Ethan. She took a step backwards and recoiled. Becker would be angry, he would be so angry. She mustn't let him out!

"Don't worry, you will be gone before there will be any trouble." Sally blinked. "You do want to go home, don't you? It is the only way! I am the only one who knows the way!" He said and used the girl's sad demeanour.

"Really? I…I am forbidden to let you out."

"We are from the same time, Sally. Let me out and I promise to take you home!"

Ethan watched eagerly how Sally took a step closer to the door.

"But…how do I…"

He pointed to a desk behind her. "There is a bracelet in the drawer behind you and you just have to hold it against the grey thing on the door. It is as simple as that."

Sally searched the drawer and yes, there it was. A grey reflecting bracelet. It was cold and a bit heavy in her hands. She looked at Ethan. "You will take me home?"

He nodded. "Yes I will!"

The lock made a clicking noise.

* * *

><p>The crew gathered in front of Abby's lab.<p>

"Would someone care to explain why the bloody alarm set off?" Lester asked in his usual sneer when he arrived at the scene. Becker glanced at Matt who took a deep breath. It would all come out anyway. He had been first to arrive and Abby had quickly managed to fill him in on the results.

It affected all of them now. Prospero Industries had to be stopped.

"I broke into Prospero Industries." Matt started and had the team's attention in an instant. Open mouths stared at him and wide eyes stared in wonder and accusation.

After Matt and Becker had finished the questions started and hardly found any ending.

"So, what does this green thing do again?" Danny asked.

"It affects human cells." Abby explained.

"It what?"

"But how?"

"It changes them in a very aggressive way. I have never seen something like that!" Abby answered.

Matt was very silent suddenly.

"This is it isn't it?" Emily asked him. "The moment for which you have been sent back."

Matt sighed. "Well, I guess it could be."

"What does this mean? Abby, what do you mean by aggressively change human cells?" Jess' voice had a hunch of fear in it.

Abby gulped. "They develop. Theory would call it another step of evolution."

"Excuse me!?"

"What?"

"Oh, dear, this is just how I wanted to spend my night." Lester said with his voice dripping of sarcasm.

"Develop into…what…" Danny frowned.

Becker had become pale but the soldier hid his inner turmoil well. "Can't you guess?" He asked, but no one answered then.

Then finally Emily gasped. The woman from the past and the future. "The predators!"

"Of course!" Connor immediately said and he looked around himself to find only shocked looking faces.

"But…" Jess stumbled and grabbed Becker's arm for support, who immediately covered her hand with his. "…that means…that they…they are us? They are our future?" her voice was barely louder than a whisper.

"What do we do now?" Emily asked.

"We need to destroy it!" Danny said.

"Can we destroy it?" Lester asked, but no one knew the answer.

"Maybe if we'd fry their computer system and burn every evidence that something like that had ever existed." Connor said and the impossibility of the plan was evident in his voice.

"Did Ethan know about it?" Emily asked.

"Let's find out!" Danny said and his eyes gleamed menacingly.

* * *

><p>The team made their way down to the cells.<p>

On the way down there Emily stopped and announced that she was going to check on Sally and Jess said she would go with her.

The men and Abby continued on their way, but when they reached the corridor they immediately noticed the open cell door.

"What…" Becker grabbed the gun on his belt and stood next to the door before he barged in, gun pointed. "He's gone." He said.

"How can this be possible?" Connor asked and looked into the cell.

There were running footsteps in the corridor and Emily and Jess sprinted to them.

"Sally is gone." She rasped out of breath.

Lester groaned. "I knew this would happen! Bring a girl into the future! Captain, this is your responsibility!" Becker straightened and made a perfect soldier face, but Jess could just suspect what was going on inside of him, however Emily came to his aid. "I should have watched her. It is not only Becker's fault, so if you want to punish someone then you have to punish me as well!"

Matt stepped forward and put a hand onto Emily's shoulder.

"I am team leader and responsible for my team."

Lester rolled his eyes. "For heaven's sake! You lot are impossible." And mumbling he added. "There is at least no paper work, for she didn't exist, did she? So, who for heaven's sake is missing again?"

"A lunatic." Connor said and grinned despite the serious situation. Danny smacked his head and everyone had to giggle never the less.

The seriousness had quickly been restored and everyone went about business again.

The search for Ethan wasn't going to be effective. Everyone of them knew that he could be anywhere and in any time.

"What about the poor Sally?" Jess asked concerned, but there was no answer to that.

Connor's time calculator was missing, even though it had been broken but why should Ethan not be able to repair it?

He would make another appearance eventually, but until then Propero Industries was their priority.

* * *

><p><em>Thank you guys for reading! I hope you liked it! <em>


	46. Chapter 46

_Chapter number 46._

_I am not sure if it is that good, because I feel like I am not really back into the story yet, but I am trying!_

_I already want to wish you a great New Years Eve, if you are celebrating.=)_

_All the best for 2014!=)_

* * *

><p>"You are doing what?" Lester almost yelled. His hand curled into a fist crumbling the paper in his hand.<p>

"It's the order from the Prime Minister."

There was a buzzing and hustling around them. People came in and left again.

"But with which justification?"

"Your facility in under the strong suspicion of being involved with a wanted terrorist." The Colonel said with his hands clasped behind his back. He was taller than Lester and looked at him almost condescendingly.

Lester's eyes widened with surprise. "A terrorist? In our facility?" He huffed. "That is ridiculous!"

"Excuse me, Sir, but as the head of security I can assure you that…" Becker started but was interrupted when the Colonel held up his hand.

"Captain, this is not your responsibility anymore. I have to put you and your team under arrest."

"What?" Abby gasped and looked into the shocked eyes of her team colleagues. Connor gulped.

"Arrest?" He asked nervously.

"I am calling the Minister." Lester said shaking his head. "This is impossible!" He pulled out his phone and started dialling right away. The strange men kept on packing everything in boxes which they carried directly outside. The equipment would be searched and it all reminded him of a déjà vu. He had seen it before. Lester swallowed. The ARC had been shut down before and it had all but started the same way.

Jess covered her mouth with his hands. She swallowed hard. "But, what is going to happen?"

"We will investigate the accusations." The Colonel answered even though Jess hadn't spoken to anyone in particular.

"Who made the accusations in the first place?" Matt asked in his team leader voice. "Who accused us of anything?"

The Colonel licked his lips and squinted at each team member. "We received an anonymous call that accused you very severely."

"Anonymous?" Connor asked. "So you have no prove at all!?"

The broad man turn to him and Connor seemed to shrink under his scowl. "We can't leave those accusations unattended, Mr Temple. If you excuse me now." He walked away from them to oversee the work.

"Oh my god!" Jess said shaking her head.

"Anonymous caller…" Abby mused.

Connor snorted. "Wonder who that could be!"

"Connor, you don't know…"

"I don't know? I sure as hell know that the terrorist number one called them! Who else could it have been?" Connor said angrily.

Danny's mouth twisted. He had been silently watching everything. He wanted to insult someone, but he knew better than to get all worked up right now. It would arouse even more suspicion.

"I am with Connor on this." He said now.

Becker chewed on the inside of his cheek. He was thinking the same but he didn't want to admit it, instead he said.

"This is like the first time just after you guys had disappeared. They cleared the whole building."

"Is there anything we can do?" Emily asked, but no one answered.

There was no way around it this time. They couldn't flee and they couldn't rebel against the Military. Not if they didn't want to make it worse.

Abby and Matt threw a stern look at each other. The two of them had at least been lucky enough to have cleared Abby's lab of every remainder from the predator DNA.

* * *

><p>He sniggered while he watched the men in uniforms carry box by box out of the building and into transporters. He patted himself for the brilliant idea.<p>

_Well done!_

It would be weeks before the bunch of idiots would be out of jail again.

The MI6 would investigate them and search every paper, every computer for a terroristic connection that didn't exist. Time was the key word.

It would give him time and that was all he needed.

He didn't know what he was going to do next, not yet, so he had to figure that out first.

The men retreated to climb down from the roof he was standing on.

_Work to do!_

* * *

><p>Lester shook his head.<p>

The Prime Minister had told him the same things the Colonel had told him.

There was nothing he could do, but to watch how his work crumbled.

"So, do you know who could have called us to accuse you?" The leading investigator asked for the millionth time and Lester fought with his impatience.

"No, as I said before I have no idea who could have accused us."

"Any enemy you forgot to mention?"

Lester gritted his teeth. "Yes."

The officer straightened. "So?"

"Every kind of creature we have sent back to the past to ensure the citizen's safety!" He hadn't wanted to say it, but it just slipped out of his mouth. _Moron!_

The officer leaned back in his chair and pursed his lips. "I see. So you consider yourself a hero?"

"Hardly so, since I have to speak to people like you all day long to keep them of my team's back so they can do their job properly!"

"Mh."

"I mean, why would we work together with a terrorist when our goal is about trying to maintain peace and save people, huh? Do you have any idea how that fits together?"

"So, you think that your work about these creatures is for the greater good, but do you get enough support? I mean after all you have to speak to people like me all day long." The officer raised his eyebrows and Lester sighed. This guy was about to twist every word.

It was senseless to argue with him.

"I am not saying another word without my solicitor!"

"Fine. One last thing: your team, who would be the one person to deceive someone?"

Lester mouth dropped. "Excuse me!? I am not accusing anyone from my team! They are all very decent people, very accomplished workers and highly trustable."

The investigator scribbled some notes down in a black little book before he said.

"That would be all then, Mr Lester."

* * *

><p>"I am not comfortable with this, Rudy." Jean said to her colleague who simply shrugged.<p>

"Well, imagine if we are the ones who figure out how to heal some severe illnesses! Wouldn't that be brilliant!?" He smiled dreamily.

"But we can't test it on people!" She interjected. "It is not right! We are not ready for this!"

He sighed. "Jean." Both of his hands on her shoulder. "Those people know what they signed up for. Hell, they even get money for it!"

"But…"

Rudy shook his head. "It's too late anyway, we can't go back now!"

Jean nibbled at her bottom lip. This was wrong!

They shouldn't interfere with nature so much. Why the hell did she take this job instead of the one in the lab of that small hospital? Because you needed the money, was the simple answer.

"So, what now?"

Rudy prepared and injection and made sure the hollow needle wasn't jammed.

"Now, we will write history!" He said with gleaming eyes and walked into the sick room next door.

* * *

><p><em>Thank you for reading and your support!=)<em>


	47. Chapter 47

Becker leaned against his truck with his arms crossed over his chest. His black T-Shirt outlined his muscular body perfectly, but his face was a neutral mask and he looked almost bitter.

People avoided looking at him which suit him just fine.

The weather mirrored his mood and the fine rain left wet drops in his hair.

He was starring at the tall building and straightened when the door opened and a young woman appeared.

She made her way over to him with a rather sour expression on her face. The colour of her clothes blended in with the dark sky which was very unusual for her and Becker would have loved to lift the grey veil from her head.

"Hey." His voice was soothing.

Jessica just pulled a face and slid wordlessly into the passenger seat of the car. Becker got in on the other side.

"You okay?"

She sighed and nodded. "Yeah, just exhausted." She looked at him and closed the gap between them to press a soft kiss onto his lips. He put his arm around her to comfort her for just a moment. Jess lost herself in the warmth of the embrace and it made her forget the world for a blissful second. She rested her forehead on Becker's chest. "Thanks for picking me up."

He rubbed her arm. "Sure."

On the way over to Jess' apartment she started her usual rambling which actually calmed Becker down. He was surprised how it always did. It was part of her and the silence didn't suit her, now usually Becker preferred silence, but strangely enough with Jess it made him nervous. Probably another side effect of his feelings for her.

"They kept pestering me about all the security stuff which I have no idea about! I told them everything about the computer system and that no one could breach security without me knowing, but either they wouldn't believe it or they simply tried to find a fault in my statement. This guy kept twisting my words!"

Becker held his palm out to her and squeezed her hand once. "I know."

"So, why did they already let you go two days ago?" She was curious.

"Because I have had training with MI6, they know me and my record. Obviously they didn't really believe that I was working together with a terrorist. However, they made clear that we were under observation."

"We are being watched?" She almost shrieked.

"Yes, that would be the conclusion."

"Lovely." She said and moaned. "I just want to take a bath now and go to bed. I think that was the worst week in my life! Is it already a week?"

Becker nodded while he pulled into the parking lot in front of the complex of buildings.

One week since the MI6 had closed down the ARC.

And surely more would follow.

* * *

><p>Abby squinted angrily at the black SUV parked across the street. With fierce steps she kept walking and tried to ignore it but that was easier said than done. She hated it!<p>

Connor walked up to her from the opposite direction and being Connor he just grinned at her.

"Hey Abbs." He pointed over his shoulder. "See the guy with the black head and the newspaper in his hand?"

She nodded with a frown on her forehead.

"The guy's been following me the whole time and man he is good!"

Abby shook his head in disbelief. "Connor this isn't funny!" She pulled at his collar to drag him along. She wanted to get off the street as soon as possible and it wasn't far anymore to Matt's place.

Connor stumbled after her and she quickly pushed him into the hall of the house where Matt was living.

"This is a nightmare! They are following us anywhere!"

"And it is hard to get rid of them!"

"What are you saying, Connor?" Abby knew him well enough by now.

Connor grinned and pushed the bell. "I tried to get rid of him. I was in the shop and tried on a few hats to confuse him and then I tried to hide in the crowd, but before I was out of the shop he caught up with me again." Matt opened his door. "Hey Matt. Then I went into this other shop where I went into the changing rooms only to walk out of them on the other side again, but no chance. Last thing I tried was to hide behind a newspaper, just like he did, but it was no use!"

He dropped onto Matt's couch.

"You did what?" Matt asked confused and Abby answered:

"He tried to dodge the agent."

The whole team had decided to meet up at Matt's place, ignoring the fact that it would draw the MI6s attention.

Becker and Danny pulled a face. "It might not have occurred to you that it would make you even more suspicious, has it?"

Connor shrugged. "Well, until now they didn't find anything serious enough to lock me up again."

Becker shook his head. It wasn't worth getting upset about Connor.

Emily actually chuckled. "Connor, you are ridiculous!"

"Let's rather think about a way how to get out of this!" Jess wailed. She actually got cabin fever at home. It was already two weeks since the ARC had been shut down and she needed something to do.

"Any news from Prospero?" Danny asked, but no one knew anything. They had to be very carefully who they called or met with the MI6 observing them. It was difficult to get information from something they probably shouldn't get involved with.

"Right now our hands are tiedt." Abby said.

"What if an anomaly opens up and people get hurt?" Jess interrupted. She hadn't really listened. Becker put his arm around her to soothe her. The whole thing was wearing her down and there was nothing he could do.

"No one happens to know someone inside Prospero, right?" Danny asked and everyone answered no, except for Jess who suddenly raised her head. "Yes!" She mouthed. The others stared at her, but Jess pointed at her ears first and then at the window.

"The glass is sound-proof." Matt said. "We should be safe to talk."

"I know someone from the labs they moved. Very briefly though, but I think I could call her."

"Why didn't you say that earlier?" Danny asked, and her head dropped.

"Leave her alone!" Becker snapped.

"I guess I was too caught up with all this observation thing…that's really wearing me down." She admitted silently.

Abby kneeled down in front of her. "Don't worry, Jess. But if you would call her, that would be great!"

* * *

><p>Jean just got home when her mobile rang. She didn't recognize the number and the penny didn't immediately drop when she heard the name.<p>

"Jess Parker?… Oh of course I remember you! I heard what was going on in the ARC. Is it true?…Yeah, I thought so, but I guess everyone gets really nervous today when they hear the word terrorism. But I am sure they will open the ARC again when they have searched the equipment without any results.…Sure. …Well, actually I am not allowed to tell you.…What? Do you think there is a connection between the closure of the ARC and the testing? …Actually it's not working out that well…"

* * *

><p><em>Thank you so much for reading!<em>


	48. Chapter 48

_Here you go!_

_Have fun reading and I am sorry for the mistakes I missed!_

* * *

><p>The weeks flew by, since time wasn't stopping even thought the ARC didn't exist anymore and Prospero was still working away.<p>

Matt couldn't think about anything else. If this was why he had been sent back then he had to act, but the officer that was still clinging to him like chewing gum to a shoe made things more than difficult.

But then the one day came that everyone had been waiting for.

Lester called his team to tell them to come over to his flat. He obviously had something important to tell them.

"What do you think it is?" Connor asked.

But no one knew.

"I don't expect anything good." Becker said and Jess nudged him.

"Don't be so pessimistic! Maybe they're going to open the ARC again!" She was still eager to start working again. No one but her could miss that huge computer she had befriended with while working in the ARC. Becker rolled his eyes. How had he fallen in love with something like her?

It was a mystery to him, but a good one for a chance. He thought that he didn't want to know the answer and took her hand instead. Jess smiled at him and Becker sighed silently.

They had searched the papers last night together to look for flats and the closer the came to actually calling someone to look at a flat the happier he felt.

_"You can't possibly think about moving together right now when we're both out of work?" Jess had said when he had sat down on the couch next to her with a few newspapers._

_Becker had simply shrugged. "I don't see why we shouldn't at least have a look at the papers."_

_He had pulled her onto his lap and wrapped his arms around her._

_Jess snuggled up against his chest and calmed down immediately. Warmth embraced her and she wished that he would never let go of her again. "Life goes on, Jess." He said and stroked her hair._

_She looked at him. "I know." But her voice sounded a bit sad. She had loved how her life had turned out, but then everything had changed. You still have Becker, a voice in her mind told her and she knew that he was the only thing that still kept her going._

_She put a gentle kiss onto his lips which he returned eagerly. Breathing into the kiss they drank each other in._

"I never thought I'd see his flat again!" Connor said and pulled Becker out of his daydream.

"Who says he'll let you in?" Abby answered and grinned at Connor silly face.

"Nah, he won't let me wait outside…will he?" He looked at Danny who shrugged.

"No idea."

"Wouldn't surprise me." Becker replied and pushed against Connor's shoulder.

Abby snickered and put her arm around his shoulder. She pecked his cheek.

* * *

><p>Lester opened the door and waved them in. "Come on in." But when Connor was about to enter he stepped into his way and gave him a dark look. "Temple! Don't touch anything!"<p>

He gulped. "Er, yes Sir."

Lester kept glaring at him.

"I swear."

Then finally he stepped aside and let him enter the flat where he had let him crash when Abby had thrown him out. Unfortunately, Sid and Nancy, the dinosaur babies they were keeping hadn't been on their best behaviour and trashed the flat in merely a few hours.

The team gathered in the living room and everyone waited for Lester to tell them why he had called them.

"I am sure you all wonder why I called you. Well, the good news are that you are no longer under observation. The MI6 figured that none of you stands in contact with any threatening parties against the government."

Becker scoffed but didn't say anything.

"However, that doesn't mean that they are going to open up the ARC again soon. They are still searching the computers."

Jess' eyes dropped to the ground and Becker rubbed her shoulder in comfort.

"Any news from Prospero?" Matt asked and Lester shook his head.

"Nothing official. Besides I thought now that your shadow is gone…" He made a vague gesture, but Matt nodded and understood. It was their time to investigate.

"What about Ethan?" Danny asked.

"I guess he will appear when he feels like it…" Lester answered. "…or not."

"I never liked him." Connor said crossing his arms pointedly. "I am so fed up with that guy!"

Despite the seriousness of the topic everyone chuckled and laughed at Connor.

"What?" He asked, but the people around him were simply roaring with laughter.

The tension in the room lifted and it felt good to let go of it even if it was only for a moment.

* * *

><p>Only two days later Jess got a call from Jean who sounded quite alarmed.<p>

"Jean, you sound alarmed. What is going on?"

"Jess, I am not allowed to tell you, but something happened."

Jess straightened. "Jean, what is it? You sound scared."

"It's…the experiments, they got out of hand and our subjects…"

"You mean the humans you experimented with?"

"I told him that would happen!" Jean cried.

"But what, Jean?"

"They changed and developed into something…you have dealt with things like that, I know that you did!"

Jess took a deep breath remembering the creatures she had once encountered. Matt had been right with his assumptions. "Okay, Jean stay calm and tell me where they are."

Jean sniffed. "One is still in the basement. The others are dead."

"Where do you keep the substance? Is it still in your lab?"

"No."

"But where is it?"

"Oh, Jess you mustn't tell anyone!"

"What?"

"It was stolen!"

Jess gasped. Was this going to be the end of humanity?

* * *

><p><em>Thank you for reading! Have a great weekend!<em>


	49. Chapter 49

_I know I am a bit late again, but I am still on it!_

_Thanks for bearing with me guys! And thanks for the lovely reviews!=)_

* * *

><p>"They have been what? Oh please tell me this isn't true? Please tell me you're joking and this is just a bad dream and tomorrow I am gonna wake up and everything will be fine. I will wake up, get dressed, have breakfast and then…"<p>

"Connor!" Abby snapped her fingers in front of his face, almost hitting his nose so he jerked his head back. He blinked a few times before he wrinkled his nose.

"How did Becker phrase that so aptly? Bloody hell!"

"Con…" Jess tried to interrupt him but Connor was ranting now.

"No! Seriously! Bloody hell! I can't take it anymore! Why does everything have to go wrong? At first it's fine and then in the next second: kaboom!"

"Connor."

"If this was just a normal job I'd quit! I'd just quit and leave everything behind, the payment is bad anyway." He complained and wouldn't listen to anyone until Becker hit his head.

"Bloody hell, Temple!"

Connor rubbed the back of his head and looked unhappy at the soldier who pulled an annoyed face.

"But, since this is no normal job I can't quit." He went on. "Saving the world, woooo." He tried to joke because he was this short to really freaking out. Someone was out there with a deadly set of samples that would turn a human being into dangerous monsters. Could the day get any better?

"We need you to hack yourself into the CCTV footage of Prospero Industries!"

He widened his eyes at Matt. "Er, what?"

He looked around but everyone nodded at him.

"Er, it's not like I haven't done something like that before, but this is kinda huge, I mean, if I get caught…"

"Connor, can you do it?" Danny asked impatiently and Connor pursed his lips.

"I think I could…"

"I'll help you." Jess smiled at him, but Connor pulled his lips into a thin line and cocked his eyebrows at her. He wasn't convinced about this plan, because he really wouldn't want to spend half of his life in jail.

He cleared his throat and stretched his finger when he sat down in front of his laptop. "Well, here we go." He typed away and Jess looked him eagerly over the shoulder, while the rest waited patiently.

Connor mumbled something unintelligible from time to time.

After some time he suddenly gasped. "Guys, look at this!"

He clicked onto some buttons and suddenly a new window opened. "I am in!"

Everyone gathered around the computer genius and tried to get a look over his shoulder at the screen.

"We are looking for yesterday's footage." Jess said searching the screen with her eyes. Then she pointed at something. "There."

They watched the frozen picture starting to move.

"What are we actually trying to see?" Emily asked.

"Anyone out of place." Matt answered his eyes following everyone on the screen.

He squinted.

"This will take a long time." Abby shook her head and sighed.

They looked and looked but without any success. Time passed and vanished.

"Wait!" Jess suddenly exclaimed startling anyone a bit. She pointed at the screen. "There!"

Connor zoomed in on a small figure in a white coat.

There was a second where she turned her head towards the camera and Connor paused.

Everyone stared.

"That's…" Emily started and Becker finished.

"…Sally!"

* * *

><p>"What are we going to do now?" Danny asked the group but no one knew the answer.<p>

"We need to find them!" Matt said and stared out of the window at the huge city in front of him. There was no way they would simply find them.

"Great!" Connor mumbled. "Let's pretend that we do find them. What then?"

"Well, we need to find a way to destroy those samples in order to prevent the future from happening." Matt suggested, but Emily replied.

"Isn't that already too late?" Everyone stared at her. Some were shocked about how she could ask such a question, but others were worried that she could be right. "There might already be predators in the labs of Prospero's and what if they are contagious or something? What if we can't stop it anymore?"

Danny sighed. "We can at least try to prevent it and hope that they aren't contagious."

"Let's focus on Ethan." Abby agreed but Jess piped up.

"Why can't we do both?" Everyone frowned at her because no one understood what she meant. "Why can't we stop Ethan and take care of Prospero?"

Danny clicked his tongue. "I think I like how you think. Why not?" He looked around.

Matt and Becker threw each other a glance.

Emily nodded. "Yes, why not. We split up! This is the safest way after all!"

"And what pray tell do you want to do about Prospero?" Becker mocked.

Danny suddenly grinned. "We gonna end it with a bang."

"You want to blow it up? Are you mad?" Becker asked.

"Just in case Connor here can't find an anomaly big enough to swallow the whole thing up." Danny assured and patted Connor's shoulder. "We can at least set the labs on fire and burn it down."

"I just realised that I am going to end up in jail anyway." Connor shook his head.

"The Professor would be proud of you." Danny assured jokingly and Connor nodded blowing his cheeks.

"Jap."

Matt sighed. "It sounds promising."

"Matt!" Becker said accusingly, but Matt shrugged. "You don't have to do it, mate."

Becker grunted. "This can't be happening!"

"Then we have to decide who's going to be on team Prospero and on team Ethan." Abby said crossing her arms over her chest.

They knew that there was no way back. For none of them. They were a team and they would stick together until the very end.

Becker glanced at Jess who nodded at him determinedly.

They were all in this together and they had been from the beginning on.


	50. Chapter 50

_I know I know I am taking forever and I have no excuse! None!  
>But I am going to finish this no mater how few people are still reading!<em>

_Thanks for the review Chloeap1997 ;)  
>I do need to kick my ass or this will never be finished!<br>But we are close to the ending!=)_

* * *

><p>"Jess, can you read me?" Becker asked over the coms.<p>

"Yes, loud and clear, Becker. Matt, are you there?" Jess asked and Matt answered quickly that he could hear them.

Becker sighed. He was glad that Jess was safely sitting in the operating room.

"Be careful!" She had told him before she had kissed him gently on the lips. Becker hated to display his feelings openly but he had returned her hug fiercely.

"I'll stay warm." He had whispered into her ear and Jess had chuckled lightly and her breath had made the skin on his neck tingle. He loved her. He probably always had.

"Hey, action man, the signal changed. It coming from east now."

Becker rolled his eyes. However, he remembered the day when he and Abby had returned from the past and how glad he had felt when they had been safely back home.

"Lead the way, Connor." Becker nodded at his soldiers and Emily who followed the two of them. "Jess, we are heading east now."

"Copy that Captain. Team beta is almost at the entrance now."

Team beta, the team that would break into Propero Industries, Matt, Abby and Danny.

They had decided that it would be safer if they were going on their own without any soldiers, so they wouldn't raise too much attention to themselves and since they were all the best trained staff members they would succeed without back up. Hopefully!

Connor hadn't wanted to let Abby go alone, but everyone had told him that it would be better this way. They wouldn't distract each other during the mission and Abby could examine any creature they encountered in the research centre immediately while Becker needed Connor's scientific skills.

They had spent hours of trying to find a way how to track Ethan and finally Jess had had a brilliant idea.

She had suddenly squealed jumping off the table she had been sitting on before she sprinted down the corridor in her high heels. How she did that without breaking a leg was a mystery to all of them.

"Now, she lost it." Connor had mocked.

But when Jess had returned a few minutes later she had been grinning brightly.

"Have you never wondered how Ethan had gotten out of his cell?"

"Sally, let him out, didn't she?" Emily had asked and Jess had nodded.

"But…"

"…the question is how she did it!" Matt had finished the sentences and he had known immediately what she had discovered.

"There is an ID bracelet missing." She had beamed then. "If one of them still has it then I am sure we can track it down, can't we?" She had looked at Connor who had grinned back at her.

"I am on it!" He had laughed. "Genius Jess!"

"It is moving again. So if they haven't thrown it away so a racoon swiped it I am almost certain that we will find either of them at the end of this paper chase." Connor said and Becker threw Emily a look who simply shrugged replying.

"Let's hope it isn't a racoon."

How the two of them could still make jokes over this was a mystery to Becker. He was in full soldier mode and humour wasn't really what he was thinking about now. The mission had first priority.

* * *

><p>"No pressure but we cannot spend hours trying to defuse a security panel." Danny said. He watched the area while Matt was busy cutting cables at the electronically closed back door.<p>

Jess had managed to get control over the CCTV system via Connor's earlier hacking successions which meant that the camera above the backdoor was not sending any footage to the control room which would raise attention at some point.

"How did the girl get in here?" Abby wondered.

"No idea!" Matt said and cut the last cable. "Done!"

The door wooshed and opened.

"Come on." Danny entered first.

They needed to get some lab coats before they would make their way to the labs where they would try to destroy the researches.

It came in handy that three researchers were heading their way. Luckily there weren't many people around these days.

Danny hit one of them over the head and the man was knocked out immediately while Abby and Matt took care of the other two.

They discretely dragged them into a broom cabinet while they fixed their outfits accordingly.

"Matt, you need to go down the right corridor." Jess told them and Matt nodded even though she couldn't see it.

"Copy that, Jess."

They walked down the corridor hoping that they wouldn't encounter anyone important enough to know every single employee.

Abby noticed how Danny's hand was placed near where he hit his weapon under his coat.

"We should be close now." Matt told them double checking the direction from which they were coming from.

The closer they came to the labs the fewer people were working in the labs they passed. It was as if this area of the building was close to be deserted and Abby had a bad feeling in her stomach.

Danny noticed it as well and his fingers itched closer to his weapon.

Finally they came to a closed lab door. There was another electronic panel sitting next to it.

"Jess, we got to the closed off area. There is a fingerprint scanner next to the door and probably retina scanner as well." Matt said through the coms.

"Okay, I am on it. I think I can somehow override the access."

They waited in front of closed doors.

* * *

><p>"The signal is getting stronger." Connor said.<p>

"What if we find them?" Emily asked.

"We improvise." Becker answered staying close to them.

Connor grimaced.

They were in some back alley where they made their way through rubbish and old cardboard boxes.

"Why do they always hide in such abandoned nasty areas?" Connor complained.

"So no one else will get hurt when we have to take them out?" Emily suggested and Connor smiled wryly.

"Of course."

"Stop!" Becker hissed and held up his hand.

Everyone froze.

His hand flew up to his ear piece. "Jess, I got a visual, there is someone in de building in front of us!"

Everyone held their breath.

There was definitely someone running around in there.

Ethan?

* * *

><p>The panel beeped and blinked red and then green and the door sprang open.<p>

"Great work, Jess!" Matt said.

They entered the lab and suddenly there were strange noises filling the air that they hadn't heard from outside.

The air was cold and there was a huge panorama window in front of them.

They stepped forward and Abby covered her mouth with her hand when she looked through the window.

"Oh my god!"


End file.
